Anschutz Medical Center Master Plan - University of Colorado Denver

Institutional Master Plan September 25, 1998 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center / University Hospital 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

I. INTRODUCTION I –1 

II. PROGRAM PLAN II – 1 

A. Mission II – 1 

B. Current Environment II – 4 

Education II – 4 

Research II – 17 

Clinical Care and Service II – 24 

Institutional Support II – 32 

Information Technology II – 43 

C. Market Analysis II – 46 

D. Program Requirements II – 65 

Total Learning Environment II - 65 

Education II –71 

Research II – 79 

Clinical Care and Service II – 84 

Support and Logistics II – 88 

Information Technology II – 91 

E. Related Documentation 

III. CONVEYANCE AND ACQUISITION OF FITZSIMONS PROPERTY III – 1 

IV. TRANSITION IV – 1 

A. Goals and Principles IV – 1 

B. Transition Plan IV – 2



TABLE OF CONTENTS - CONTINUED 

1. Overview IV - 2 

Program Relocation Sequencing IV - 4 

Education IV - 4 

Research IV - 5 

Clinical Care and Service IV - 5 

Support and Logistics IV - 6 

C. Related Documentation 

V. FACILITIES PLAN V - I 

A. Summary of Space and Physical Inventories/ System Capacities V - I 

9 th Ave. Campus V - I 

Fitzsimons Site V - 4 

B. Land Utilization Plan V - 11 

9 th Ave. Campus V - 11 


Vision Statement Themes V - 12 

Physical Framework Principles V - 14 

Site Development Phasing V - 22 

Reuse/Demolition V - 26 

C. Infrastructure and Major Systems Requirements V - 31 


Utilities V - 31 

Telecommunications V - 33 

Open Space V - 35 

Circulation/Access V - 35 

Parking V - 35 


Utilities V - 40 

Telecommunications V - 57 

Open Space V - 60




Circulation/Access V - 60 

Parking V - 64 

D. Summary of Plans for Major Construction Projects V - 65 


Fitzsimons V - 67 

Major Renovation Projects V - 67 

New Construction V - 72 

Short-term (5-Year) V - 72 

Long-term V - 77 

Demolition V - 79 

VI. REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 9 TH AVE. CAMPUS VI - 1 

VII. FINANCIAL PLAN VII - 1 

A. Background and Introduction VII - 1 

B. Overview of Methodology VII - 2 

Assumptions for Requirements VII - 5 

Assumptions for Resource Projections VII - 7 

Assumptions for Allocating Projected Resources VII - 17 

C. Description of Transition Scenario VII - 20 

Projected Financial Requirements VII - 20 

Projected Financial Resources VII - 21 

Margin Analysis VII - 21 

Change from the Four-Scenario Study VII - 22




APPENDICES 

(SEPARATE VOLUME) 

A. Master Plan Committee Members and Participants 

B. Unit/Program Space Utilization Requirements 

Space Guideline Analysis 

C. Existing Conditions 

9 th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. Campus 

Fitzsimons 

D. Fitzsimons Conveyance Agreements and Information 

E. Program-Related Documentation 

Vision Statements 

Market Analysis Summary 

Survey and Interview Results 

F. Information Technology Plan 

G. Board of Regents’ Actions 

H. Controlled Maintenance Summary


University of Colorado Health Sciences Center / University Hospital



SECTION I 

INTRODUCTION 

“Colorado is poised to become the premier learning university in the nation …” 

John C. Buechner, President, University of Colorado 

Regarding the Total Learning Environment 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the University of 

Colorado Hospital Authority have engaged in a joint planning master planning 

process to produce a comprehensive statement about the future of the two 

important institutions. This plan is unique because it creates a long-term context 

and vision for the eventual relocation of all of the education, research, service, 

and patient care programs from the current campus at 9 th Avenue and Colorado 

Boulevard to 217 acres at the site of the Fitzsimons Army Garrison in Aurora. The 

plan describes a strategy to relocate most of the core programs of the two 

institutions within twelve years. In addition, specific program and facility initiatives 

that are anticipated to develop with in the next five years at both sites are outlined. 

The challenge presented in creating a master plan that depicts the development of 

programs by two institutions at two sites, concurrent with the physical transition 

from one campus to another, is unprecedented at the University of Colorado. 

Capturing and describing the opportunities and challenges inherent in creating the 

Total Learning Environment of the future for health sciences has occupied 

hundreds of faculty, students, staff, administrators, elected officials, community 

representatives, alumni, friends, and others. This plan is the culmination of the 

combined efforts of these dedicated people. However, the plan represents a 

beginning, not an end. The plan provides a framework within which to grasp the 

possibilities and potential of a new campus. It provides a common language and 

vision to proceed with the implementation of goals and to continue planning to 

address unforeseen challenges and opportunities. 

Background 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) and University 

Hospital (UH) have an extraordinary opportunity to build the state of the art 

academic health sciences center over the next 20 years. The campus is only just 

realizing the possibilities presented by a four-fold increase in land upon which a 

new campus can be placed to house and support responsive and integrated 

education, research, and clinical care programs. This potential is being made 

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University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital 

SECTION II 

PROGRAM PLAN 

“The University can, and must, be a guiding light to the people of Colorado and 

the world in shaping a vibrant, ethical community.” 

Total Learning Environment Focus Group, 1997 

The planning process utilized for the development of this master plan has included 

the following stages: 1) the formation of future institutional vision statements; 

2) the identification of current expansion and projected program development 

needs; 3) the determination of current and long-term space and facility 

requirements necessary to accommodate evolving program needs; 4) the 

development of a feasible, short-term (14-year) campus transition scenario 

necessary to guide the successful relocation and expansion of current programs 

and the opportunistic development of new facilities and infrastructure at the 

Fitzsimons site; 5) the development of a comprehensive financial plan to 

accommodate current and new program requirements, the physical development 

and operation of the Fitzsimons site, and the continued operation and 

maintenance of the existing campus site; and 6) a review of possible long-term 

redevelopment options for the existing campus site. 

Presented in this section is a discussion of program – education, research, clinical 

care and service. The contents of this section on program include: an overview of 

the current institutional environment; a review of related market conditions and 

program demand; and a summary of future program requirements based primarily 

upon the master plan vision statements and information obtained from the master 

plan program survey. 

A. MISSION 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) is a public higher 

education institution and the only academic health center in the State of Colorado 

and the Rocky Mountain Region. It is one of four campuses of the University of 

Colorado (CU) governed by the University of Colorado Board of Regents. 

The UCHSC main campus is currently located in the residential heart of Denver 

and encompasses the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, and Pharmacy, 

the Graduate School, Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, University of Colorado 

Hospital Authority (UH), and various related affiliated institutions. Several on 

health sciences institutions supporting the UCHSC include the Barbara Davis 

Center for Childhood Diabetes, the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the 

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Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, the John F. Kennedy Child 

Development Center, the University Physicians, Inc. (UPI), the Webb-Waring 

Institute, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute for Cancer Research. 

With the three-part mission of education, research, and service, both clinic and 

academic, the campus serves as a hub of abroad network for health care delivery. 

The mission of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center reflects the 

main purposes of the institution: 1) the education of health professionals; 2) the 

delivery of both health care and community service; and 3) the advancement of 

knowledge through research in the health sciences. These activities contribute to 

the overall mission of the campus – to improve human heath. The University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center has achieved a national and international 

reputation for excellence in teaching, service, and research and is truly a unique 

regional and state resource. 

The current mission statement for the campus was originally drafted in the late 

1970s. Since that time, the statement has been regularly updated by the various 

chancellors through consultative processes and through their individual drafting 

efforts. The campus’ mission statement follows. 

The UCHSC Mission Statement 

The mission statement of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center 

(UCHSC) reflects the main purposes of the institution: (1) the education of health 

professionals; (2) the delivery of both health care and community service; and (3) 

the advancement of knowledge through research in the health sciences. The 

mission statement for the campus is as follows: 

UCHSC offers programs and role models for the undergraduate, graduate and 

postgraduate education and training of professional health practitioners. The 

programs reflect a balanced integration of the basic and clinical sciences, 

individual and community health problems, curative and preventive health 

practices, and individual and team efforts. The UCHSC develops and maintains 

educational and training opportunities for continuing education of practicing health 

professionals in the state through educational programs. 

UCHSC directly provides health care to patients at University of Colorado Hospital 

Authority, Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, the Children’s Diagnostic Center and the 

Dental Clinic, as well as at several campus affiliates. University of Colorado 

Hospital Authority has a responsibility to provide health care to many Colorado 

residents who are financially unable to secure such hospital care elsewhere. The 

health care services are comprehensive, ranging from first contact (primary) care 

to highly specialized (tertiary and quaternary) care. The health care services also 

serve as a foundation for teaching and research activities. 

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UCHSC advances health knowledge through basic and applied research, 

functioning as the major health-related research base in the state. UCHSC 

maintains high standards regarding human subjects throughout its research 

activities and ensures that any protocols used are intended to benefit both the 

individual and mankind. 

UCHSC is an integral part of the University of Colorado’s multi-campus 

educational system. The center is also a major technical and professional 

resource for other institutions in the Rocky Mountain Region dealing with health 

issues. The UCHSC communicates with many constituencies, including the 

administration, faculty, and staff at other campuses and schools, alumni, 

professional and civic groups, foundations, and governmental representatives and 

agencies, and the public. 

UCHSC supports its educational, health care, research and external affairs 

programs through support services aimed at achieving coordinated development, 

efficient and effective resource management, timely and appropriate informational 

exchanges, and programmatic accountability. The center also supports its 

programs by maintaining a safe, secure, and pleasant environment for its patients 

and personnel, while upholding all aspects of diversity as a necessary condition to 

achieving the institution’s stated objectives and mission. 

Interrelationship among UCHSC’S Missions 

Bas ic 

Science 

Res earch 

ED UCA TIO N 

RESEA RCH 

PUBLIC 

SERV ICE 

Clinical 

Educ at ion 

Clinical 

Res earch 

PATIENT 

CA RE 

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Legislative Mission 

The legislative mission for the UCHSC is mandated by the Constitution of 

Colorado. The Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S. 23-20-101) states that the 

UCHSC campus’ role is to “be a specialized professional institution offering 

baccalaureate and graduate programs in health-related disciplines.” This mission 

statement was created during the early history of the institution and although 

reviewed by the state legislature and the Board of Regents, has not changed 

since that time. 

B. CURRENT 

ENVIRONMENT 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is a critically important 

institution in Colorado with the primary mission of educating accomplished 

scientists and health practitioners, including physicians, nurses, dentists and 

pharmacists to serve in the world of health care. Each year, UCHSC faculty 

educate 3,100 students, interns, residents, and graduate fellows, conduct 

approximately $155 million worth of sponsored research and training, and treat 

thousands of patients. 

Presented below is an overview of current UCHSC programs. 

Education 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC), one of the four 

campuses of the University of Colorado, is the only comprehensive academic 

health center in the state of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. The 

UCHSC includes five professional schools: Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, 

Pharmacy, the Graduate School. The Colorado Psychiatric Hospital and 

University of Colorado Hospital Authority (University Hospital) are also major 

institutional program units of the UCHSC. The primary academic goal of the 

UCHSC is to provide high quality educational programs which prepare students 

for careers as health professionals, scientists and educators. 

The Health Sciences Center’s primary mission is to “improve human health” 

through the education of health professions; the delivery of both health care and 

community services; and the advancement of knowledge through research in the 

health sciences. An international reputation for excellence in teaching, research 

and service has been achieved by the UCHSC in fulfilling this mission. 

The Health Sciences center currently offers professional educational programs 

leading to doctoral degrees in Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy, as well 

as comprehensive clinical training programs for graduate housestaff and fellows; 

and undergraduate and graduate programs in Nursing, Physical Therapy, and 

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Pharmacy. Allied Health programs exist in the fields of Dental Hygiene and the 

Child health Associate program. Graduate programs also exist in the Basic 

Sciences, Preventive Medicine and the Genetic Associate program. These 

programs reflect the integration of the basic and clinical sciences, individual and 

community health problems, and curative and preventive health practices. The 

Health Sciences Center also provides opportunities for continuing education 

throughout the state. 

Graduate School 

The Graduate School at the UCHSC is part of the University-wide Graduate 

School and is responsible for the administration of graduate programs leading to 

the M.S. and the Ph.D. degrees at the Health Sciences Center. 

The Graduate School provides learning in more than a dozen graduate basic 

science, clinical, and nursing disciplines. The aim of the Graduate School at the 

UCHSC is to challenge the frontiers of human health and disease. With its 

distinctive personal mentor-student emphasis, the Graduate School provides 

programs that develop investigators with broad based knowledge in the 

biomedical sciences. 

The Graduate School mission is to further the purposes of the UCHSC by: 

• Assisting departments and faculty in developing, supporting, and 

administering Ph.D. and master’s degree programs in the health sciences; 

• Fostering interdisciplinary and interinstitutional programs and collaboration; 

• Formulating and maintaining uniform standards for scientific excellence in all 

graduate-level courses and research experiences offered for credit; and, 

• Promoting a supportive graduate student community. 

On the UCHSC campus, the Graduate School has grown steadily in the number of 

its programs, students, and faculty. In the fall of 1996 there were 743 graduate 

students enrolled in 23 programs leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of 

Philosophy degrees. The number of UCHSC faculty with graduate appointments 

now exceeds 430. 

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Master of Science (M.S.) Programs Offered Through the Graduate School 

School 

School of Medicine 

School of Nursing 

Program 

Biometrics 

Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant 

Genetic Counseling 

Medical Physics 

Physical Therapy 

Public Health 

Nursing 

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Programs Offered Through the Graduate 

School 

School 



School of Pharmacy 

Program 

Biochemistry 

Biometrics 

Cell and Developmental Biology 

Clinical Sciences 

Epidemiology 

Experimental Pathology 

Human Medical Genetics 

Immunology 

Medical Scientist Training Program 

Microbiology 

Molecular Biology 

Neuroscience 

Physiology 

Pharmacology 

Nursing 

Pharmaceutical Sciences 

Toxicology 

School of Dentistry 

The School of Dentistry is the only dental school in Colorado and the entire Rocky 

Mountain Region. The past two decades have witnessed significant development 

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and sophistication in all three areas of the school’s programmatic mission: 

teaching, scholarship and research, and service (patient care and community 

activities). The School’s teaching excellence program has become a national 

model for faculty development. The School is nationally recognized as a leader in 

research in oral cancer, dental pain control, salivary gland disease, and 

neurobiology. The School of Dentistry operates several dental clinics within the 

dental school and participates in a variety of clinical programs in other clinics 

throughout the state. Enrollment in 1997-98 totaled 184 and included 145 

professional dental students and 39 dental hygiene students. 

The mission of the University of Colorado School of Dentistry is to participate as a 

respected and responsive member of the UCHSC and the total CU academic 

community through: 

• Education: (1) educating competent, fully qualified general dental 

practitioners to provide current, comprehensive dental services; (2) educating 

competent, fully qualified dental hygienists to provide current, comprehensive 

dental hygiene services; and (3) developing and providing quality 

postdoctoral dental educational programs. 

• Service: (1) providing current primary dental care services to assist in 

meeting the public’s oral health care needs; (2) implementing statewide 

programs for student provision of direct clinical care services to Colorado’s 

under-served populations; and (3) providing continuing education and 

professional activities for the mutual benefit of the public and the dental 

profession. 

• Research: (1) actively initiating and conducting scholarly activities and 

research; (2) encouraging and supporting research opportunities for 

students; and (3) continue encouraging and supporting efforts to develop 

centers of excellence in oral sciences research. 

The School of Dentistry at the UCHSC offers the following programs and degrees: 

Program 

Doctor of Dental Surgery 

Degree 

D.D.S. 

The Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program is a high quality innovative 

educational experience designed to ensure that its graduates possess the 

knowledge, skills and values to begin the practice of general dentistry. The four 

academic-year program, consisting of year around course work and approximately 

220 earned credit hours, includes didactic, preclinical laboratory and clinical 

components to its curriculum. The D.D.S. program was fully reaccredited in 1994 

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by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA), a commission associated with 

the American Dental Association. 

Dental Hygiene 

B.S. and Certificate in Dental 

Hygiene 

The Dental Hygiene (D.H.) Program within the School of Dentistry is a 

baccalaureate program. The program is known as a “two plus two” program in 

that students first attend two years (60 semester credit hours) of school at any 

accredited university, college, or community college, prior to applying for entrance 

into the program. The DH program is accredited simultaneously with the D.D.S. 

program by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CDA) and received full 

accreditation in 1994. 

General Practice Residency 

Certificate of Completion 

The General Practice Residency (GPR) program is designed to provide postdoctoral 

educational experiences during a one-year or two-year residency 

program. 

Continuing Dental Education 

The School of Dentistry has a very active Dental CE department which serves as 

a state, regional and national resource to thousands of dentists, dental hygienists, 

and dental assistants. In the years since 1992, 154 courses have been taught to 

10,284 participants. 


The UCHSC School of Medicine is the only medical school in Colorado and the 

largest, most comprehensive of the seven medical schools in the Rocky Mountain 

Region. 

The School of Medicine provides professional medical educational programs to 

medical students, allied health students, graduate students, and housestaff. It 

also provides practicing health professionals and the public with community and 

Continuing Medical Education. The school offers several degrees: Doctor of 

Medicine (M.D.), Master of Science (Physical Therapy), Bachelor and Master of 

Science (Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant) and Doctor of Philosophy in 

biochemistry, biophysics, and genetics; cellular and structural biology; 

microbiology and immunology; pathology; pharmacology; and physiology. The 

school also offers the Medical Scientist Training Program leading to a combined 

M.D./Ph.D. degree granted in conjunction with the Graduate School and several 

interdepartmental graduate programs in neuroscience, molecular biology, and 

immunology. 

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The mission statement of the University of Colorado School of Medicine is to 

provide Colorado, the nation and the world with programs of excellence in: 

- Education through the provision of educational programs to medical students, 

allied health students, graduate students and housestaff, practicing health 

professionals and the public at large; 

- Research through the development of new knowledge in the basic and clinical 

sciences, as well as in health policy and health care education; 

- Clinical care through state-of-the-art clinical programs which reflect the unique 

educational environment of the University, as well as the needs of the patients 

it serves; and, 

- Community service through sharing the school’s expertise and knowledge to 

enhance the broader community, including affiliated institutions, other health 

care professionals, alumni and other colleagues, and citizens of the state. 

The School of Medicine at the UCHSC offers the following programs and degrees: 

Program 

Degree 

Doctor of Medicine 

M.D. 

The School of Medicine's Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) program is designed to 

provide the scientific and clinical background to prepare graduates for the practice 

of medicine. The four-year curriculum provides a thorough grounding in basic and 

clinical sciences, exposure to patients in clinical and hospital settings, and 

integration of teaching in the basic and clinical sciences across the four years of 

medical school. The M.D. program has been continuously accredited since 1936 

by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education. 


M.S. 

The Master of Science (M.S.) in physical therapy (PT) program is offered in 

conjunction with the Graduate School. The PT program is designed to train health 

professionals whose primary purpose is the promotion of optimal human health 

and function through the application of scientific principles to prevent, assess, 

correct or alleviate acute or prolonged movement dysfunction. PT students at the 

UCHSC are trained to evaluate persons who are disabled as a result of pain, 

disease, injury or developmental delay and to plan and administer appropriate 

therapeutic programs. The M.S. in physical therapy program at the UCHSC has 

provided 50 years of quality education and service to Colorado and the Rocky 

Mountain Region, maintaining continuous accreditation since 1947. An eight-year 

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affirmation of accreditation was granted in November 1993, by the Commission on 

Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy 

Association. 

Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant M.S./B.S. 

The Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant (CHA/PA) program is an allied 

health program offered through the School of Medicine. The CHA/PA program 

specializes in the care of infants, children and adolescents. The three-year 

program prepares its graduates to provide comprehensive medical care for 

patients of all ages, with special expertise in pediatrics, children while working 

under the guidelines set for physician assistants. The CHA/PA program was the 

first and remains the only physician assistant (PA) program to focus on primary 

care for children. Although the emphasis remains on pediatric care, the program’s 

primary care curriculum prepares students to evaluate, diagnose and treat 

patients of all ages. The CHA/PA program is well regarded across the country as 

a highly academic program modeled after medical school; it is also unique 

because it emphasizes clinical medicine throughout the curriculum. The program 

was accredited and graduated its first class in 1972. In 1997, the program 

received six years of continuing accreditation. In 1995, the program received the 

Colorado Commission on Higher Education Award for Excellence. 

Master of Science Programs 

M.S./Ph.D 

and Doctor of Philosophy Programs 

Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree programs are 

also offered through the School of Medicine in conjunction with the Graduate 

School. The programs are designed to train investigators with broad based 

knowledge in biomedical sciences. The Graduate School functions as the 

administrative unit with the primary purpose of applying uniform rules, procedures, 

and policies to the operation of the program while the School of Medicine provides 

the faculty and courses. In some instances, faculty from the other schools of the 

UCHSC participate in the School of Medicine’s Ph.D. programs. Courses of study 

offered include: 

Biochemistry 

Ph.D. 

Graduate work in the fundamentals of modern research as well as specialization 

in molecular biology, neuropeptides, protein chemistry, and cancer biology. 

Biometrics 

M.S./Ph.D. 

A course of study leading to the two degrees includes statistical theory, 

epidemiology, applied multivariate analysis, survival analysis, and electives. 

Cell & Developmental Biology 

Ph.D. 

An interdepartmental program in cell and developmental biology 

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Clinical Sciences 

Ph.D. 

Graduate work to provide physician students with the background necessary to 

ensure a meaningful progression through the didactic and research training of 

Clinical Investigation and Health Services Research. 

Epidemiology 

Ph.D. 

A course of study dealing with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease 

in populations. 

Experimental Pathology 

Ph.D. 

A program designed to bridge the fields of cellular and molecular biology, 

biochemistry, immunology, and pathology. 

Genetic Counseling 

M.S. 

A two-year course of study designed to prepare students to work as 

knowledgeable, competent, caring, and creative genetic counselors. 

Human Medical Genetics 

Ph.D. 

The program in Human Medical Genetics is an interdisciplinary program which 

provides research training in the rapidly developing area of human genetics, 

especially as it regards medical aspects of the discipline. 

Immunology 

Ph.D. 

A course of study on the immune system and the cell-mediated and humoral 

aspects of immunity and immune responses. 

Medical Physics 

M.S. 

A course of study provided by the Department of Radiology that combines 

classroom instruction with laboratory work and practical experience in a variety of 

clinical settings and includes training in all areas of diagnostic radiology. 

Microbiology 

Ph.D. 

A course of study oriented toward basic research in molecular microbiology and 

the molecular pathogenesis and immunology of infectious disease. 

Molecular Biology 

Ph.D. 

An interdepartmental course of study that is a student-centered program with 

faculty that share an interest in conducting research on basic principles of 

molecular biology. 

Neuroscience 

Ph.D. 

A training program providing multidisciplinary training in neurobiology, from 

neuronal gene regulation to the development, structure, and function of the 

nervous system. 

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Pharmacology 

Ph.D. 

A course of study that seeks to understand basic biochemical, cellular and 

physiological mechanisms by analyzing the perturbation of these mechanisms by 

drugs. 

Physiology 

Ph.D. 

A multidisciplinary course of study in cellular and molecular physiology with an 

emphasis on cellular, molecular, and developmental neuroscience. 

Public Health 

M.S.P.H. 

A program design to educate students in the core content and methodological 

areas of public health, prepare them for practical application of public health skills 

and knowledge of public health issues and problems, and enrich graduate 

medical education programs and continuing education for public health 

professionals. 

Medical Scientist Training Program 

Combined M.D./Ph.D. 

The Medical Scientist Training Program (M.D. /Ph.D.) offers highly qualified 

students the opportunity to become physician scientists with dual M.D. and Ph.D. 

degrees. The curriculum is designed to combine contemporary medical education 

with a rigorous training program in basic biomedical science. The curriculum 

provides students with the opportunity to couple medical studies with in-depth 

advanced research in a selected field. 

Continuing Medical Education 

The Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME) serves the School of Medicine 

as a resource for planning and conducting educational activities for practicing 

physicians and allied health care personnel in Colorado, the Rocky Mountain 

Region and elsewhere in the U. S. and abroad. The commitment is supported by 

a determination to provide CME activities of the highest quality in accordance with 

the Essentials for CME of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical 

Education. 

The scope of the CME effort includes the needs of both primary care physicians 

and clinical subspecialists to review basic science principles and clinical 

applications, including aspects of medical ethics, economics, and health care 

reform. The methods range from individual lecturers and courses, consisting of 

lectures and small group discussions, to the production of audiotapes. The latter 

provide more flexibility in reaching rural practitioners who are unable to attend 

courses frequently. 

Participants are physicians throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region, 

including generalists, specialists, subspecialists, and medical researchers, as well 

as physicians from other regions and other health professionals, including 

physician assistants and nurses. 

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The School of Nursing was established in 1898 in connection with the School of 

Medicine and University Hospital on the Boulder campus. In 1920, the School 

offered one of the nation’s earliest bachelor of sciences degrees. In 1924, the 

School of Nursing and the School of Medicine moved to the Denver campus. In 

1949, the School of Nursing became an autonomous professional school. In 1965, 

the School of Nursing offered the first nurse practitioner program in the nation. 

Also, in keeping with its reputation for innovation, the School of Nursing added a 

Doctor of Nursing (N.D.) degree program that is one of only three in the country. 

Today, in addition to the B.S. degree in nursing, other degrees offered include the 

Nursing M.S. and Ph.D., and the Nursing Doctorate (N.D.). Enrollments during 

1997-98 in the School of Nursing totaled 683 and included 211 undergraduates, 

353 graduate students and 119 students enrolled in the Nursing Doctorate 

program. 

The School of Nursing’s mission is focused on professional nursing--the art and 

science of human caring. It is a discipline committed to the search for new 

knowledge and understanding of human responses in health and illness. It is also 

a discipline that seeks caring modalities and environments that make possible 

both health and healing. The School of Nursing’s mission and goals are focused 

on professional nursing within these frameworks. 

The University of Colorado School of Nursing seeks to improve health care, 

especially for residents of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region, by providing 

leadership in educating professional nurses, conducting research, delivering 

health care, and participation in community service. In particular, the mission of 

the School of Nursing is: 

- To develop and offer educational programs that prepare nurses to provide 

exemplary professional nursing care and to contribute to the development 

of nursing knowledge. 

- To engage in diverse research activities which contribute to knowledge and 

understanding of the science, art, and practice of nursing in the complex 

and changing health care system. 

- To provide nursing care through direct services and indirectly through 

affiliated programs and consultations with other health providers. 

- To provide community service to the State and larger community by 

developing and extending nursing education, research, and practice 

programs. 

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- To provide consultation and leadership in addressing health care issues at a 

local, state, and national and international levels. 

The School of Nursing at the UCHSC offers the following programs and degrees: 

Program 

Degree 

Nursing 

B.S. 

The Bachelor of Science program is one of six generic baccalaureate nursing 

programs in the state. It is a two-year upper division major designed to prepare 

students for entry into the nursing profession in generalist practice. The B.S. 

curriculum focuses on the discipline of nursing and is supported by a strong liberal 

arts and sciences foundation. 

Nursing 

M.S. 

The Master of Science (M.S.) Program, one of four nursing master’s programs in 

the state, educates nurses for advanced practice in self-defined or program 

administration, nurse-midwifery, psychiatric-mental health nursing, and primary 

health care programs for adults and defined areas of specialty (i.e., adult health, 

community health nursing, nursing children, women, families, and families/ 

communities/individuals). The M.S. program is structured to provide the 

foundation for career paths of potential leaders in advanced nursing practice and 

the foundation for doctoral study in nursing. The master’s curriculum builds on the 

knowledge and competencies of baccalaureate education in nursing and provides 

for the attainment of advanced knowledge and practice of nursing consistent with 

the school’s mission. 

Doctor of Nursing 

N.D. 

The Doctor of Nursing (N.D.) program, the only one in the Western region and one 

of three in the United States, offers an advanced generalist, first professional 

nursing degree. The N.D. program is a four-year, post-baccalaureate professional 

degree program. The program involves three years of rigorous academic course 

work plus one year of professional clinical residency. 

Nursing 

Ph.D. 

The Ph.D. program in nursing, the only one in the state, is designed to prepare 

nurse scholars who are highly motivated toward advancing the art, science, and 

practice of the nursing discipline, and to investigate theories, policies, and clinical 

procedures that preserve human dignity, promote quality of life, and foster social 

well-being. The curriculum focuses on the use of a broad range of methods of 

inquiry appropriate for describing nursing phenomena and the conduct of nursing 

theory development and nursing research. 

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Continuing Education 

Throughout its history, the School of Nursing has served the educational needs of 

practicing nurses in Colorado and has been a national leader in continuing 

education. Continuing nursing education, offered both on and off campus, 

statewide and nationally, provides a bridge between the School of Nursing and the 

registered professional nurse who has a basic need to maintain competency and 

commitment in a rapidly changing field. 


The School of Pharmacy is a comprehensive institution of higher education 

committed to excellence in teaching and learning. The purpose of the school’s 

professional education programs is to train competent pharmacy practitioners. 

The School of Pharmacy occupies the unique position of being the only pharmacy 

school in the state. In this capacity, the school's general mission is to educate 

and provide a sufficient number of competent pharmacy practitioners to meet the 

needs of the State of Colorado, help to produce enough pharmacists for society at 

large, and to provide graduate education in pharmaceutical sciences, toxicology, 

pharmacy administration and clinical pharmacy to help meet the nation's and 

society's needs for educators, researchers and advanced clinical practitioners. To 

achieve these goals, the school offers professional educational programs in 

pharmacy and graduate degree programs in pharmacy, pharmaceutical sciences 

and molecular toxicology and environmental health sciences. Each of these 

programs is unique within the University system and provides educational and 

experiential training in disciplines specific to pharmacy practice and 

pharmaceutical research. In achieving these overall objectives, the faculty of the 

School of Pharmacy actively participate in interdisciplinary, collaborative research, 

as well as in practice environments where multidisciplinary teams of health care 

professionals contribute to the care of patients. 

The mission statement for the School of Pharmacy is stated below. 

The University of Colorado School of Pharmacy is a comprehensive institution 

of higher education committed to excellence in teaching, research and 

public/professional service in areas unique to the practice of pharmacy and to 

the pharmaceutical sciences. The school’s professional educational programs 

have as their principal purpose the training of pharmacy practitioners who are 

compassionate, ethical and caring; scientifically knowledgeable and technically 

competent; skilled at communication and teamwork; motivated to pursue 

lifelong learning; and dedicated to fulfilling the public trust by assuring the safe, 

effective and efficient use of prescription and non-prescription drug products. 

The school’s faculty endorse the concept that pharmaceutical care, defined as 

“the responsible provision of drug therapy for the purpose of achieving definite 

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outcomes that improve a patient’s quality of life,” constitutes the essence of the 

pharmacy profession and, as such, must provide the foundation for every 

aspect of the school’s professional curriculum. Faculty members are 

committed to teaching excellence and to continuous monitoring of the 

professional curriculum to ensure its faithfulness and relevance to the tenets of 

pharmaceutical care. Pursuant to this commitment, faculty members welcome 

the scrutiny provided by student and peer evaluations and by outcomes 

measurements that assess overall teaching quality and lead the way to 

improvements in the school’s instructional programs. 

The faculty also are dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of new 

knowledge. Encouraging faculty members to engage in creative activities that 

have a positive impact on the well-being of society, providing these faculty 

members with the resources necessary to develop into accomplished scholars 

and supporting graduate, post-graduate and post-professional research 

training programs are major priorities of the School of Pharmacy. 

Finally, and most importantly, the faculty recognize their responsibility to 

promote diversity and equality of opportunity throughout the School of 

Pharmacy and to advance the profession of pharmacy through public advocacy 

and through participation in the affairs of local, national and international 

pharmacy organizations. 

The School of Pharmacy at the UCHSC offers the following programs and 

degrees: 

Program 

Degree 

Pharmacy 

B.S. 

The baccalaureate degree program offered by the School of Pharmacy consists of 

a two-year pre-pharmacy component and a three-year professional pharmacy 

component. The pre-pharmacy component may be taken at any accredited 

college or university. The pharmacy component is taught in its entirety by School 

of Pharmacy faculty and preceptors at the UCHSC campus and at various 

experiential sites. The objectives of the baccalaureate pharmacy curriculum are to 

instill in students a comprehensive body of knowledge, attitudes and clinical and 

professional skills that will enable them to deliver rational, safe and cost-effective 

drug therapy to all members of society; to communicate effectively with the 

general public, patients and other health care practitioners; and to succeed in a 

pharmacy career in a changing health care environment through lifelong learning 

and adapting to change. 

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Doctor of Pharmacy 

Pharm.D. 

The School of Pharmacy offers a post-baccalaureate professional Doctor of 

Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program for graduates of accredited schools and colleges 

of pharmacy. The curriculum for the program consists of didactic coursework and 

clinical clerkships. 

Doctor of Philosophy 

Ph.D. 

The school, in conjunction with the Graduate School, offers two Doctor of 

Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree programs -- one in pharmaceutical sciences, and the 

other in toxicology. The Ph.D. in toxicology is a research-based program 

concerned with understanding the adverse effects of chemical and other 

dangerous substances on humans and other living organisms. The Ph.D. in 

pharmaceutical sciences is also a research based program concerned with the 

development of new drugs and the improved treatment of disease. Research 

areas currently emphasized include: 1) medicinal chemistry, 2) pharmacology, 

3) pharmaceutics , and 4) toxicology. 

Continuing Education 

Continuing education is an integral part of the School of Pharmacy's mission. 

Continuing educational opportunities are provided to enhance the practice skills of 

Colorado pharmacists and to lead to better quality of care and patient outcomes 

for the health care consumer. The School of Pharmacy has taken a leadership 

role in providing quality continuing education activities for pharmacists practicing 

in Colorado. The External Programs Office of the School of Pharmacy has 

accredited more than 100 individual programs during the past two years. These 

programs have been offered throughout the state and have included single and 

multi-topic seminars, individual presentations for professional society meetings 

and correspondence courses. 

Research 

The research mission of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is to 

develop new knowledge which will be applied to the prevention and treatment of 

human disease and to the improvement of human health. To better serve the 

people of Colorado and the public good, research discoveries are the scientific 

basis for improved patient care. 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center research effort is based on a 

strong faculty which values and advocates for research. 

In the past 50 years, the UCHSC has emerged as a nationally and internationally 

renowned center for health-related research. Some of the major breakthroughs 

which have occurred at the UCHSC include: 

• first to identify the "battered child" syndrome 

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• development of the first classification and numbering system of human 

chromosomes, which became the standard for the world 

• first fetal cell implant for Parkinson's disease in the nation 

• first immunology research to identify synergism between B and T-lymphocytes 

• world's first 3-D images of the human body derived from anatomical sections 

• first liver transplant in the world 

• first successful series of open-heart operations under hypothermia, which 

revolutionized open heart surgery around the world 

• first description of toxic shock syndrome 

• world's first instance in humans of what is now called cloning 

• pioneering research leading to the development of influenza vaccines and the 

eradication of smallpox 

• first human thyroid autograft, using tissue from one's own body to repair 

damaged or diseased tissue 

• first discovery of the magnetic component of human brain response in 

schizophrenic patients 

• first to define adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 

• development of Denver Developmental Standardized Test, establishing a 

national model to assess childhood development 

• discovery that lymphocytes are preprogrammed to respond to antigens: the 

cornerstone of immunology 

• pioneering work in the use of ultrasound in obstetrics 

• developed preferred surgical procedure for thoracic outlet syndrome 

• first arterial homograft (use of human arterial tissue in heart surgery) 

• first in nation to use ultrasound technology on a patient 

• first in nation to perform Kasai surgery to correct biliary atresia, preventing 

liver failure in children 

• first to use steroids in immunosuppression as a way to prevent rejection of 

transplants 

• discovery of granulopoietin, which stimulates production of infection-fighting 

white blood cells 

• first genetic counseling team 

• first identification of the genetic factor in conversion of normal cells to cancer 

cells 

• first specialized pediatric unit in region to care for kidney patients as young as 

newborns 

• classification of gestational periods in newborns to assess neonatal 

development 

• discovery of new skin disease (Huff's disease) 

• development of the Colorado-Bhovona speech prosthesis for surgical 

restoration of speech following a laryngectomy 

• first to prove vitamin E deficiency as a cause of neurologic symptoms in 

children with chronic cholestatic liver disease 

• development of non-invasive tests to measure gallbladder function and bile 

acid metabolism 

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• world pioneer in use of high resolution electron microscopy to study dynamics 

of caries formation 

• pioneered computerized model for tooth alignment in ethnic populations 

• pioneered model of systems and analysis for dental health care in the elderly 

population 

• first demonstration of killing cancer cells by genetic manipulation of toxin 

genes 

• first to identify a growth factor for normal white blood cells 

• first multimodality specialized melanoma clinic 

• first fetal cell implant of Type I insulin-dependent diabetes in the nation 

Faculty research strength and expertise are requisite to strong academic 

programs. Today’s students will be competent professionals only if their teachers 

are expanding the knowledge base of the health care system. UCHSC plays a 

crucial role in fostering basic and clinical research to create new knowledge as 

well as provide training opportunities for the next generation of Colorado’s health 

care providers, teachers and scientists. The UCHSC currently ranks in the top 25 

among academic research institutions in the country in terms of extramural 

funding. Sponsored project activity at the UCHSC continues to grow. The Health 

Sciences Center received more than $154 million in sponsored research grants 

and awards for the 1996-97 year. 

UCHSC also plays an integral part in a vast regional and national network of 

health-related research activities through such centers, institutes, and affiliates as 

the University of Colorado Cancer Center, the Webb-Waring Institute, the Barbara 

Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the 

Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, the John F. Kennedy 

Center for Child Development, the Center for Health Services Research, the 

Colorado Prevention Center, and the National Jewish Medical Center 

New and expanded research efforts include human genetics, neurosciences, 

molecular genetics, immunobiology, molecular toxicology and environmental 

health, hepatobiliary research, pulmonary, perinatal and chemical abuse research, 

a comprehensive range of oral sciences research, and nursing and caring science 

research. In addition, liaisons are being established with private businesses to 

encourage the rapid introduction of new technologies and therapeutic products 

into the market. 


The School of Medicine is the major health research base in Colorado, currently 

attracting millions of dollars ($125 million) in research and training grants annually 

to advance knowledge of biomedical sciences through basic and applied 

research. Each School of Medicine department conducts research to expand 

II-19



knowledge about the intricacies of the human body. Some of this research is 

interdisciplinary in that it is a cooperative effort with other departments or with 

affiliated institutions on campus. 

As earlier described, the School of Medicine’s physicians and scientists have 

pioneered breakthrough medical advances in cardiology, oncology, surgery, 

genetics, immunology, microbiology, and other medical fields. 

Major research programs at the school include those in basic sciences, molecular 

biology, neuroscience, and genetics. Clinical research areas include cancer, 

heart disease, AIDS, diabetes, and pulmonary diseases. The school has 

pioneered in transplantation and recognition of child abuse and neglect as an 

entity, as well as research in alternative forms of health professional education. 

Adult and Pediatric Clinical Research Centers have been continuously funded by 

the National Institutes of Health for more than three decades, and research 

programs in Native American mental health and alcohol and substance abuse 

have developed national and international reputations. 

The School of Medicine receives significant research funds through grants and 

contracts. The trend in the amount of awards received by the school during the 

past ten years has be very positive. In 1996, the school ranked 13th out of 125 

medical schools in terms of magnitude of change in total NIH-awarded research 

funding. A list of key grants and contracts awarded to the School of Medicine for 

the fiscal year 1996-97 is provided below. 

Title Sponsor Total $ 

Clinical Research Center – Adult NIH 3,736,496 

Epidemiology and Utilization: American Indians NIMH 2,705,213 

SPORE in Lung Cancer - 04 Year NIH 2,302,810 

SPORE in Lung Cancer - 05 Year NIH 2,253,129 

Clinical Research Center NIH 1,740,390 

Genetic Approaches to Neuropharmacology NIAAA 1,687,012 

Addiction Research and Treatment CDHS 1,685,884 

SCOR - Lung Diseases, Infants and Children NIH 1,617,681 

Clinical and Technical Evaluation of Full-field Digital Army 1,600,000 

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Mammography 

Adaptations to Hypoxia NIH 1,504,519 

Colorado AIDS Clinical Trial Unit NIH 1,457,063 

PLCO Screening Program NIH 1,430,492 

SCOR in Acute Lung Injury NIH 1,106,864 

Genetic and Neurobiology Study of Schizophrenia NIMH 1,063,712 

Colorado Rural Immunization Services Project CDC 1,058,512 

American Indian/Alaska Native Research NIMH 1,049,261 

Regulation, Release and Action of Vasopressin NIH 1,015,390 

Aminergic Function in Aging and Alzheimer Disease NIH 960,228 


The School of Dentistry is committed to the advancement of knowledge through 

research in the health sciences. Research is an integral component of the 

school’s programs. The School of Dentistry has regularly received between 

$700,000 and $1,000,000 annually in external funding for research in a wide 

range of topics. During the 1996-97 year, the School of Dentistry received 

approximately $812,000 in sponsored research grants and awards. 

These funds for research have come from federal, state and private sources. 

Studies in molecular biology, salivary gland research, neurobiology, oral cancer, 

periodontics and various other clinical disciplines are indicative of the types of 

scholarship and research conducted in the School of Dentistry. 

The construction of a dedicated clinical research facility in 1995 adjacent to the 

new School of Dentistry faculty practice has further enabled faculty to participate 

in clinical research projects. The planned creation of a postdoctoral program in 

orthodontics, coupled with the planned Rocky Mountain Center for Oral and 

Maxillofacial Rehabilitation, will provide additional avenues for clinical 

investigations and research opportunities. 

II-21



Specific research grants received by the school have supported the following 

fields of research: 

- clinical cancer education 

- papilloma virus in smokeless tobacco and the development of oral 

carcinogens 

- oral tissue response and release of sanguinarine 

- dental utilization patterns in older adults 

- primary culture of salivary gland cells 

- regulation of submandibular acinar cell secretion 

In addition, several small instrument grants from the National Institutes of Health 

(NIH) have been obtained. 


The School of Nursing is committed to the advancement of knowledge through 

research in the health sciences. The school is successful in seeking extramural 

funding. During the 1996-97 year, the School of Nursing received approximately 

$2.8 million in sponsored research grants and awards. 

Research in the School of Nursing is directed toward improving the health of 

individuals, groups, and communities. This research focuses on the development 

of new nursing knowledge and on the improvement of nursing practice. Nursing 

research is oriented toward basic and applied scientific inquiry related to areas 

including: (a) experiences with and responses to various health and illness 

conditions, (b) the effects of nursing management on health and illness outcomes, 

(c) attributes of provider-patient (client) care relationships that lead to positive 

health and illness outcomes, and (d) health care systems that optimize the 

delivery of health care services. 

The School of Nursing has an active research program with projects funded 

internally (e.g., Intramural Research Awards, Dean’s Research Awards, University 

Hospital) and externally (e.g., National Institutes of Health, foundations, local care 

institutions). 

The internal structure of the school’s research program includes the Center for 

Nursing Research (CNR) and the Research Council of the faculty. In 1984, the 

CNR was organized to develop, implement, and monitor research and evaluation 

activities in teaching, research, administration, and practice. It is a key part of the 

infrastructure for nursing research and scholarship activities at CU. The CNR 

provides support through consultation, statistical and technological assistance 

including literature searches and Internet access, training in research methods 

and software use, and assistance with data management and analysis. In 

addition, the CNR provides research services to the health care community, 

II-22



particularly clinical agencies and other health care organizations that require 

clinical evaluations but do not have the resources or expertise to conduct studies 

themselves. The School of Nursing is committed to providing the support 

necessary to assist faculty in developing research projects and in conducting 

studies once they are funded. The Research Council provides such support. 

Through the Intramural Research Program of the school’s Research Council, 

faculty have received funding for small scale studies, travel to give presentations, 

and for research development, literature searches, copying, and audiovisual 

development. 

The school has long been recognized for its research and scholarly productivity. 

Faculty research primarily has focused on major clinical problems such as pain 

assessment and control, research on the health care transitions of the elderly, and 

infant growth failure and nursing care. Faculty research endeavors have achieved 

national and international recognition, and faculty have been sought after for 

participation in scientific review committees and consultations at the national and 

regional level (e.g., National Institutes of Health, Agency for Health Care Policy 

and Research, and American Cancer Society) that support and conduct research. 

Faculty have also participated on and chaired national groups developing clinical 

practice guidelines. They have also participated in reviews of the state of the 

science on pain management, community-based nursing strategies and 

complementary healing methods. 

Key research affiliations include University Hospital, The Children’s Hospital, the 

VA Medical Center, and other hospital and community-based clinical agencies. 

Joint appointments of faculty with such agencies facilitates the identification of 

important research questions to be pursued, enables clinical agencies to obtain 

needed research consultation and access to the latest research findings, and 

provides faculty with clinical expertise for their studies. The School of Nursing has 

ties with other schools of nursing throughout the state, supports joint activities 

such as research seminars, and provides research assistance to their faculty as 

requested. 


The current research activities are diverse in nature, reflecting the interests of 

faculty members in numerous disciplines including pharmacology, toxicology, 

medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, cancer biology, drug formulation, stability and 

delivery; pharmacokinetics, new drug development, pharmacy administration, 

pharmacoeconomics, and the improved delivery of pharmaceutical care. The 

three principal areas of programmatic emphasis are pharmaceutical 

biotechnology, molecular toxicology and environmental health and 

pharmacoeconomics. These activities are consistent with the stated goals and 

objectives of the school and support its mission of education, research, patient 

care and service. 

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The School of Pharmacy has a strong tradition of research in the pharmaceutical 

sciences and consistently ranks in the top ten schools of pharmacy nationally for 

total NIH funding and NIH funding per faculty member. 

Extramural-funding for grants and contracts during the last five fiscal years (1991- 

92 through 1996-97) totaled $18,497,800 of which $2,715,557 represented 

indirect costs. 

Future plans for research programs at the School of Pharmacy will seek to 

maintain current strengths in individual research programs while fully developing 

the three major research and graduate educational programs in the school, i.e., 

the collaborative program in pharmaceutical biotechnology, the program in 

molecular toxicology and environmental health and the program in 

pharmacoeconomics them to pursue careers as clinician researchers. 

Clinical Care and Service 

The delivery of services is another essential purpose of the UCHSC. The UCHSC 

provides both clinical and community service. The UCHSC provides clinical 

service through affiliation with University Hospital, Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, 

the School of Dentistry Clinics, and other institutions both within the Denver area 

and throughout the State of Colorado. Several UCHSC patient care programs are 

linked regionally with larger health care delivery systems such as the regional 

high-risk perinatal care providers. The UCHSC also provides community service 

through the volunteer efforts of the faculty, staff, and students. Faculty at the 

UCHSC give community service time to provide health education and information 

to Colorado citizens, patient care to many people without means, and other 

volunteer services. 

Colorado Psychiatric Hospital (CPH) 

The Colorado Psychiatric Hospital was established by the Colorado General 

Assembly in 1923 with the statutorily defined mission “for the care and treatment 

of Colorado residents who are afflicted with a mental disease which can be 

corrected by observation, treatment and hospital care.” CPH is staffed by 35 

faculty from the School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and 140 other 

employees who work closely with University Hospital to provide adult and child 

outpatient services as well as intensive and alternative inpatient care. CPH, as a 

unit of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, provides the psychiatric 

service for University Hospital. All clinical programs of CPH serve as the teaching 

laboratory for housestaff and trainees; psychiatry, psychology, and social work; 

and for students; medical, nursing, occupational therapy, and speech pathology. 

II-24



CPH’s current programs include, besides instruction, inpatient services, 

emergency psychiatric service, adult outpatient services, and child outpatient 

services. Additionally, the following research groups are also included within CPH: 

National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research; 

Center for Neurosciences and Schizophrenia; Program on Early Developmental 

Studies; Developmental Psychobiology Research Group (DPRG); MacArthur 

Research Network on Early Childhood Transitions; Magnetoencephalography 

Laboratory; the Primate Laboratory; Addiction, Research and Treatment Services 

(ARTS); Postdoctoral Research Training Program; and Programs for Public 

Psychiatry. 

University Hospital Authority (UH) 

University Hospital (UH) is the primary site for the provision of clinical education to 

the students of the Health Sciences Center, the clinical research for the UCHSC 

faculty and the provisions of health care to the citizens of Colorado. The University 

Hospital was established in 1921 by the Colorado General Assembly. UH is 

staffed by 500 physicians who are faculty in the School of Medicine and 

housestaff. The Colorado General Assembly declared into law that “the needs of 

the citizens of the State of Colorado and the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences schools will best be served if the Colorado University Hospital is 

operated by a quasi-governmental and corporate entity charged with the mission 

of operating a teaching hospital for the benefit of the Health Sciences schools and 

providing for the medically indigent.” The hospital was reorganized as a not-forprofit 

entity by the Colorado legislature in 1991, with the enactment of Senate Bill 

91-225, to create the University of Colorado Hospital Authority (UHA) 

University Hospital is a regional, acute care teaching hospital which offers a full 

spectrum of primary, secondary, and tertiary adult services, supported by medical 

staff/faculty representing all major medical and surgical subspecialities. UH 

provides a comprehensive array of diagnostic and therapeutic services on both an 

inpatient and outpatient basis. 

As the principal teaching hospital for the University of Colorado Health Sciences 

Center, University Hospital shares the Center’s commitment to excellence in the 

education of health professionals, delivery of comprehensive health services, the 

acquisition of new knowledge through research, and service to the University, the 

community, state and region. The mission of the hospital is to support these goals 

by providing high quality patient care programs and comprehensive, up-to-date 

clinical facilities in an effective, forward-looking, financially sound manner. The 

hospital seeks to achieve the following primary objectives: 

- To provide the highest quality of health care ranging from primary care to the 

most highly specialized, complex tertiary care and diagnosis. 

II-25



- To ensure that an environment exists in which the faculty and students in all 

health-related disciplines have the opportunity to acquire and maintain the 

professional values, knowledge and skills that will enable them to contribute 

effectively to the advancement of health care practice and health science. 

- To provide an environment conducive to, and supportive of, basic and clinical 

research aimed at increasing knowledge and developing new and improved 

ways of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. 

- In cooperation with the state and within available resources, the Hospital is 

committed to providing health care to the medically indigent citizens of 

Colorado. 

University Hospital, with 393 licensed beds is rated among the top 25 hospitals in 

the nation. During fiscal year 1995-96, the tertiary care facility had more than 

15,600 inpatient and 254,000 ambulatory visits. Approximately 90 specialty clinics 

associated with University Hospital provide services to Colorado and the 

surrounding region such as: birth defects, cleft palate, diabetes, head and neck 

II-26



tumor, high risk/dystocia, home dialysis, nutrition, pain, PKU, and hematology/ 

II-27



II-28



University Physicians, Inc. 

The University of Colorado Medical Services Foundation (UCMSF) dba University 

Physicians, Inc. (UPI) is a Colorado nonprofit corporation organized to perform 

billing, collection and disbursement for the professional services rendered as 

authorized in Section 23-21-106(2), Colorado Revised Statutes 1973. 

Membership in the corporation is open to individuals who, at the time of applying, 

hold appointments as Executive Faculty members of the University of Colorado 

School of Medicine and who are employed either by the University or pursuant to 

a University of Colorado School of Medicine contract with an affiliated institution. 

The Board of Regents established the UCMSF as a nonprofit corporation with the 

following purposes: 

- To provide the vital support necessary to assist the UCHSC’s School of 

Medicine in accomplishing certain of its missions and functions, including 

by way of example and not by way of limitation its education, research 

and service goals, 

- To attract and retain high quality faculty to teach, conduct research and 

provide patient care through the provision of reasonable and competitive 

levels of compensation. 

- To provide efficient administrative and financial support for the School of 

Medicine academic programs. 

The fees collected by UPI are used to remunerate and support the professional 

clinical, research, and educational activities of the members of the School of 

Medicine faculty. A ten percent Academic Enrichment Fund tax is applied by the 

Dean of the School to support the academic mission. The Board of Regents 

annually review and approve UPI’s Financial Plan and Operating Agreement with 

the University. 


The educational and accreditation requirements for dental and dental hygiene 

programs demand extensive clinical instruction and patient care experience. The 

School of Dentistry, therefore, operates dental clinics within the dental school 

facility and participates in a variety of clinical programs in other clinics throughout 

the state. Although the primary reason for operating these clinics is to provide 

students with the necessary clinical instruction and patient care experience, the 

II-29



school’s clinics and clinical programs provide an extensive amount of dental care 

services to the citizens of the State of Colorado. 

The Dental Faculty Practice, a new multi-specialty group practice, provides 

outpatient care and is affiliated with and situated within the academic environment 

of the School of Dentistry. The Dental Faculty Practice is a new program that was 

previously situated outside of the School of Dentistry. Through the Dental Faculty 

Practice, the faculty of the School of Dentistry provide a wide range of dental care 

and consultative service to patients and health care professionals within the 

Rocky Mountain Region. Agreements between the School of Dentistry and 

University Hospital enables the Dental Faculty Practice to provide educational 

opportunities for students, faculty and the local dental community. 

The Advanced Clinical Training and Services (ACTS) Program is a state-wide 

system for service-learning in dental education. It is a cooperative effort between 

the School of Dentistry, community-based providers and underserved Colorado 

residents. Through fieldwork in controlled environments, students gain 

experience in treating diverse groups of individuals whose access to dental care 

may be limited by economic, physical, geographic or medical constraints. 


The community service mission of the School of Medicine includes local, 

statewide, regional, national, and international activities that are in collaboration 

with governmental health and human service agencies, professional associations, 

and non-profit organizations. 

The School of Medicine is involved in patient care outreach education, research 

and other service at a variety of levels. This commitment extends to the citizens 

and communities of Colorado, as well as to professional health care providers. 

The School of Medicine effectively delivers a range of health care services 

through sharing the school’s expertise and knowledge to the community, to 

affiliated institutions, to other health care professionals, to alumni and to other 

colleagues and citizens of the state. 


The School of Nursing effectively participates in community service by delivering 

health care and by extending nursing education, research and practice programs. 

Since its approval in 1993, the School of Nursing faculty practice program has 

become an integrated and vital manifestation of the School of Nursing faculty’s 

commitment to excellence in health care services and to caring for underserved 

populations. The faculty practice program, CU Health Care Partners: Specialists 

II-30



in Health and Healing, provides health services to Colorado citizens at clinics for 

primary care pediatrics, nurse-midwifery and women’s health care, rural elderly, 

school-based care, migrant health, pain management, incarcerated youth, 

seniors, and families. 

The School of Nursing provides community service through educational 

opportunities in underserved areas through its Extended Studies/CE Program in 

interdisciplinary educational programs that deliver health care to underserved 

populations and through non-degree training programs. Examples of the nondegree 

training programs include: 

• Care of Children with Disabilities and Special Needs 

• Advances in Maternal and Child Health for Public Health Nurses 

• Development and National Distribution of Nine Videotape Training Packages 

for Preparation of Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities 

• Leadership Option Grant, educating Pediatric Nurse Practitioners to provide 

leadership in the area of children with special needs 

• Cancer Prevention and Screening Program for Rural Nurses 

• Helene Fuld 21st Century Learning Laboratory 

Other ways the school serves underserved populations is through programs and 

projects, such as: 

• Interdisciplinary Rural Teams Training Project (IRT) - A project designed to 

improve access and coordination of health care services in rural areas of 

Colorado by enhancing the recruitment and retention of health care providers 

in these areas. The project is co-sponsored by UCHSC and Colorado’s Area 

Health Education Centers (AHECs). 

• National Health Service Corps Fellowship Program - A program designed to 

enhance the recruitment and retention of health professional students to 

provide care in rural and underserved areas of Colorado. 

• Community Analysis Projects - Since 1980, the students and faculty in the 

M.S. program option in community health nursing have conducted community 

analysis/needs assessment for more than 25 rural and urban Colorado 

communities. The results of the assessments are used by the communities 

for community development projects and health care planning. 

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The School of Nursing manifests its commitment to community service through a 

number of non-academic training grants focused on children with special needs 

and nurses practicing in underserved areas. 

• Center for Human Caring. The School of Nursing opened the nation’s first 

Center for Human Caring in 1986 to develop and promote knowledge of 

human caring and healing in health and illness. This center provides 

academic activities in nursing and health sciences, pilots and researches 

new educational and clinical practice models of caring excellence, hosts 

resident scholars, and sponsors national and international interdisciplinary 

programs. 

• First Start: Care of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers. A program that links 

higher education with the State of Colorado community college system. The 

purpose of the program is to prepare community college faculty for course 

delivery that provides for the inclusion of children with special health care 

needs into the existing educational system. 

• National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care. This center 

was established in 1995 through funding from the U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The center seeks 

to enhance the quality of child care by supporting state and local health departments, 

child care regulatory agencies, child care providers, and parents 

in their efforts to promote health and safety in child care. 

• Office of School Health. The Office of School Health (OSH) at the UCHSC 

has been a leader in the field of school health for more than 30 years. The 

Office gathers data regarding school health practices across the country. It 

has established frameworks for school health services, developed a basic 

school health library, and established the first school nurse practitioner 

training program in the nation. Currently, the OSH provides educators, 

school administrators, health care providers, and community groups with the 

technical information, advanced training, and resource assistance to develop 

or enhance health services in school settings. The OSH offers programs and 

services on the state, regional, national and international level including 

School Health Rescues Services, Project Assistance, Center City - USA, 

Project Health PACT, and the School Nurse Achievement Program (SNAP). 


Clinical pharmacy and patient care services are provided by faculty members of 

the Department of Pharmacy Practice in conjunction with other health care 

providers. The purpose of these clinical programs is to provide the faculty and 

training sites necessary to deliver experiential training, patient care, and research 

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programs in pharmacy practice. Practice sites include University Hospital and 

clinics located on the UCHSC campus, affiliated institutions including Denver 

Veterans Administration Medical Center, The Children's Hospital, Denver Health 

Medical Center, the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, the Fort 

Logan Mental Health Center, and The Apothecary at the Wardenberg Student 

Health Center on the CU-Boulder campus. Clinical faculty, residents and students 

work as members of multidisciplinary teams to provide pharmaceutical care 

services to patients in areas such as primary care, critical care, cardiology, 

geriatrics, oncology, neurology, nutrition support and drug information. 

As clinical pharmacy practitioners, these individuals are responsible for providing 

drug therapy to patients with the goal of achieving defined outcomes that improve 

the patients' quality of life. Generally, the major patient care responsibilities in the 

inpatient practice areas of these institutions include participation in 

multidisciplinary patient care rounds; monitoring patient drug therapy; reviewing 

medical records; conducting formal and informal supportive care and dosing 

consults; detecting, reporting and managing adverse drug reactions; providing 

drug information; and coordinating the provision of pharmaceutical care services 

in conjunction with other pharmacy practitioners. 

At University Hospital, faculty pharmacy practitioners coordinate their patient care 

efforts with hospital pharmacy staff members who have been assigned to each 

practice area. The director of pharmacy services at University Hospital has 

implemented a new system in which many of the traditional distributive functions 

of pharmacy services have been "recentralized" to the main pharmacy. This 

reorganization has allowed practitioners on the decentralized satellites to focus 

more effort on patient care activities. 

The pharmacy satellites at University Hospital are staffed with experienced clinical 

practitioners, many with advanced degrees and/or residency training, who are 

involved directly and on an ongoing basis in the pharmaceutical care of patients. 

These practitioners provide pharmacokinetic monitoring and consulting, 

participate in multidisciplinary rounds, conduct medication profile reviews and 

review patient histories and offer individualized patient counseling. University 

Hospital, along with the School of Pharmacy, also offers several pharmacy 

practice residencies each year. These residencies are designed to develop the 

skills of post-Pharm.D. graduates in contemporary pharmacy practice. 

The nutrition support service is a consult service managed by a nutrition support 

team consisting of surgeons, a dietitian, two clinical pharmacy faculty practitioners 

and a nurse. Patients are reviewed daily by a pharmacy practitioner who monitors 

nutrition status and makes recommendations for changes in parenteral nutrition 

delivery. The nutrition support service has been modestly successful in billing 

third parties for pharmacy consultative services. 

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Oncology clinical pharmacy services are provided to both inpatients and 

outpatients through the CU Cancer Center. Practice sites are located in the 

medical oncology and bone marrow transplant units at University Hospital and in 

the oncology outpatient clinics at East Pavilion. Practitioners coordinate the 

preparation of chemotherapy; manage chemotherapy-related drug toxicities such 

as nausea and vomiting, myelosuppression, mucositis, hypersensitivity reactions 

and drug extravasations; individualize dosing regimens; perform pain 

management consults; and coordinate the use of all oncology investigational 

drugs within the institution. 

The School of Pharmacy provides service to the community through various 

mechanisms. Under the guidance of faculty members, students in the School of 

Pharmacy are encouraged to participate in community service programs. 

Drug information services are provided by School of Pharmacy clinical faculty, 

residents and students at the Drug Information Center in Denison Memorial 

Library. The center provides a central and unbiased source of current information 

about drugs and drug therapy to health care providers at the UCHSC and to 

preceptors and health care providers throughout the State of Colorado. The Drug 

Information Center also provides extensive, objective support for the University 

Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee through review and analysis of 

the medical and drug literature. 

The school is also an approved provider of American Council on Pharmaceutical 

Education (ACPE) courses and grants. ACPE continuing education credits are 

available to pharmacists in attendance. 

Support 

The first part of this overview on current institutional support resources focuses on 

those resources that directly support the educational programs of the UCHSC. 

This section highlights units within the Office of Academic Affairs and the Student 

Financial Aid Office. 

Office of Academic Affairs 

The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) provides support services and assistance to 

the academic programs on the UCHSC campus, the students enrolled in these 

programs and the faculty. The following units are part of the Office of Academic 

Affairs: Academic Affairs Administration, Educational Support Services, Denison 

Memorial Library, Student Administrative Services and Admissions, Office of 

Education, and the Colorado AHEC System. In addition, the Geriatric Education 

Center, part of the interdisciplinary Campus Center on Aging, maintains a 

relationship with the administration through the Office of Academic Affairs. 

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Academic Affairs Administration 

The Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) administration serves to administer and 

coordinate the centrally provided academic and student-related services. The 

office serves as a liaison on academic and student issues with the president’s 

office, the Board of Regents, CCHE and other outside accrediting agencies. The 

office is responsible for assuring that the services provided by its units are 

responsive to the needs of the academic programs and their faculty, staff and 

students. The office also is responsible for a variety of processes and reports 

required by the Board of Regents, CCHE and other outside agencies. The office 

staff serve in leadership roles on a number of UCHSC committees and provide 

assistance to the schools and their faculty, staff and students. 

Educational Support Services 

Educational Support Services (ESS) is the centralized support unit in the Office of 

Academic Affairs that provides technical and logistical support to the UCHSC 

programs. ESS provides specialized services and staff support to the campus and 

UCHSC affiliates. Special emphasis is placed on finding creative solutions to 

challenges presented by the complex content of UCHSC academic courses. 

Centralization of such services minimizes unnecessary resource duplication and 

maximizes the benefits derived from available resources. 

The ESS is organized into seven operational units to deliver services: 

• Engineering/Technical Services --maintains and operates the TV 

operations, master recording and editing system, and a fiberoptic link, 

tying the four campuses of the University into a network. 

• Media Production --provides a variety of consultative and production 

services for video, slide/tape, script development, and audio projects. 

• Classroom Support --maintains the classrooms and lecture halls. 

• Classroom Scheduling Activity --schedules the classrooms, lecture 

halls, auditorium, and conference rooms on the central scheduling 

pool. 

• Test/Evaluation Processing Center--provides all test processing 

services for all degree granting programs. 

• Visual Images Program (VIP) --provides a full range of photography, 

graphic services, and medical illustration and meets all presentation 

and visual arts requirements of the campus. 

• Teaching Laboratories --supports basic science laboratory courses. 

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Denison Memorial Library 

Denison Memorial Library is the largest biomedical library in Colorado, providing 

information and services primarily to students, faculty, and staff of the UCHSC. 

The library provides print and electronic resources, education on information 

retrieval and management, and access to worldwide information networks. The 

primary mission of the Denison Library is to assist the UCHSC in accomplishing 

its mission and goals in education, research, patient care and community service. 

Denison Library enhances access to the biomedical literature, provides 

instructional opportunities for individuals to acquire skills in information retrieval 

and management, acquires a specialized collection of resources, and obtains 

remote materials in a rapid and cost-effective manner. 

Student Administrative Services 

Student Services provides services to UCHSC in the following programmatic 

areas: registration, records, admissions, commencement, housing and day care 

referral, intramural sports, student lounges, student health service and insurance, 

student government, learning assistance and the on-line student information 

system. The Student Administrative Services Office is organized into functional 

units that support the mission of the office and the campus. 

Student Admissions and Records. The Office of Admissions and Records 

performs all student registration functions. The office also prepares numerous 

required reports, microfilms, records, enforces University-wide academic credit 

and admissions policies, and provides grade distribution and analysis reports. 

The office also writes and publishes a course book listing all UCHSC courses and 

University rules in one document, and produces admissions publications which 

provide admissions information in regard to all UCHSC schools and programs 

under one cover 

Student Assistance Office. The Student Assistance Office provides specific 

services which support and complement the UCHSC students’ academic learning. 

The office provides a housing referral service and produces appropriate 

publications describing these services. The office also provides information in 

regard to UCHSC area child care centers, homes, summer camps, and sick child 

care. The office provides for supportive or referral counseling. Informal and 

supportive counseling is available to the UCHSC student population through this 

office. The office also coordinates student intramural sports. 

Office of Education. The Office of Education provides services and support to the 

UCHSC faculty and has established the following goals for the unit: 1) to stimulate 

changes in health professions education programming, in consideration of 

enhancing the teaching-learning process and in alignment with evolving societal 

needs, practice patterns, and scientific/technological developments; 2) to provide 

continuing professional development education for faculty in support of their roles 

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as “educators”; 3) to consult and/or collaborate with faculty and/or educational 

units on educationally-related issues and/or activities to include, but not limited to: 

instructional planning, development, management, and evaluation; instructional 

materials design, implementation, and evaluation; teaching strategies; student 

assessment methods; curriculum development, evaluation, and revision; and 

educational research and scholarship; 4) to maintain collaborative relationships 

with other units within the Office of Academic Affairs serving to support health 

professions education; and 5) to establish and maintain collaborative relationships 

with other units within the University of Colorado System and other 

institutions/organizations serving complementary purposes. 

The Colorado AHEC System. The UCHSC and Colorado communities created 

the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) System to improve the geographic 

distribution of health manpower and health services throughout Colorado, by 

regionalizing and decentralizing of the educational activities of the UCHSC. The 

AHEC system consists of two principal components: the UCHSC and five Area 

Health Education Centers. The AHECs and their headquarters communities are: 

Centennial AHEC – Greeley; Central Colorado AHEC – Denver; San Luis Valley 

AHEC – Alamosa; Southeastern Colorado AHEC – Pueblo; and Western 

Colorado AHEC - Grand Junction (Clifton). 

The AHEC system strives to improve the education of health professionals by 

expanding their experiences throughout the state. The system also seeks to 

impact the supply, distribution, quality, utilization and efficiency of health providers 

in rural and underserved areas. The AHECs are integrated into a network 

covering all of Colorado’s 63 counties. The UCHSC is responsible for the overall 

performance of the AHEC system, its component AHECs and the accomplishment 

of the statewide objectives. The basic programmatic ingredients of Colorado 

AHECs are health professions student education and continuing education and 

consultation services for practicing health professionals. Each of these 

components is directed toward responding to regional needs with a major 

emphasis on primary care. The AHEC program has engendered a well-defined 

commitment by the communities to work with local, regional and statewide health 

service and health educational institutions. 

Student Financial Aid Office 

The Student Financial Aid Office is housed in the administrative and finance 

organization of the campus. It is the responsibility of the Student Financial Aid 

Office to meet the demonstrated financial need of all qualified financial aid 

applicants at the institution and to administer financial aid in an ethical manner in 

compliance with all Federal, state, and institutional rules, regulations, and policies. 

Financial aid resources available to UCHSC students have increased substantially 

in recent years. In the 1988-89 academic year, students received $8,210,950 in 

financial assistance. In the 1996-97 academic year, students received 

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$26,985,796 in financial assistance. 

Administrative Support Resources 

Administrative support programs at the UCHSC are primarily housed in the 

Central Services and Administration Unit on campus and provide centralized 

support services for the schools, programs and certain clinical functions. A 

description of the units in Central Services and Administration is provided below: 

Chancellor 

The chancellor is the chief academic and administrative officer for the campus. 

The chancellor reports directly to the president and has overall responsibility for all 

campus matters. The units within the Office of the Chancellor include the 

following: 

Office of the Associate Director of Public Affairs 

This office coordinates public and governmental affairs for the UCHSC and 

legislative relations with the director of public affairs for the University of 

Colorado System. The associate director serves as the lead legislative 

liaison for the UCHSC and University Hospital and is responsible for building 

effective relationships with members of the Colorado General Assembly, 

legislative staff, other legislative liaisons, executive branch officials, health 

care providers and their respective associations, policy makers and 

community leaders. 

CU Foundation Office at UCHSC 

(CUF-HSC) -- The foundation is responsible for the management of fundraising 

programs for the campus in coordination with the CU Foundation 

central office in Boulder and other respective CU campuses. 

Office of Alumni Relations -- The Office of Alumni Relations is an integral 

part of the CUF-HSC office. Its mission is to build relationships with UCHSC 

alumni for the purposes of awareness, advocacy, advisement and private 

support 

The Office of Public Relations 

The Office of Public Relations is the central communications office for the 

UCHSC. Main areas of management responsibility include: news media 

relations, internal communications (hospital as well as campus), community 

education and community relations, publications, statewide outreach, 

promotion of hospital services and paid hospital advertising, and Internet 

communications. 

UCHSC Office of University Counsel 

This office provides legal services to UCHSC. It is part of the Office of 

University Counsel within system administration. At the UCHSC, this office 

provides advice and representation to the University on all legal matters 

relating to interpretation of policy and procedures, contract review, health 

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law, higher education law, administrative matters, faculty, personnel matters, 

risk management, and malpractice issues. 

Executive Vice Chancellor 

The office was created to provide a senior officer to serve in the place of the 

chancellor as required, be a “chief of staff” as the chief campus planning officer, 

and carry the portfolio of liaison to affiliated clinical entities, diversity programs, 

TeleHealth/TeleMedicine programs, Information Systems, and BioMedical 

Technology Transfer Office. The office of the executive vice chancellor is 

supported by the following organizational entities: 

TeleHealth/TeleEducation Program 

Developed to provide the highest quality medical consultations, education 

and research opportunities to communities and health care providers 

throughout the state. The campus seeks to provide access to primary care, 

education, and research to rural, underserved populations through 

educational outreach utilizing technology in established networks such as the 

Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs). Additionally, UCHSC 

currently offers distance learning, training programs, and extended studies 

via the AHECs in nursing programs; community educational training 

programs; community educational programs; library resources services; 

dentistry advanced clinical training programs; graduate course work in 

nursing, pharmaceutical sciences, physical therapy and public health; 

geriatric health care programs; and other continuing medical education. The 

UCHSC/University Hospital is currently linked electronically to the four CU 

campuses, the Family Medicine Residency Program at St. Mary’s Hospital in 

Grand Junction, the Southwest Health Systems, Inc., in Cortez, the Mount 

San Rafael Hospital in Trinidad, the Veterans Administration Medical Center 

satellite clinic in Colorado Springs, the Four Corners Hematology Oncology 

Practice in Durango, and to the statewide network for delivery of 

programming to many rural communities. 

Bio/Medical Technology Transfer Office (BMTTO) 

The BMTTO was established to support, guide and assist UCHSC 

researchers in technology transfer education and faculty development, to 

protect intellectual property, to facilitate technology transfer, to encourage 

research, and to promote corporate-sponsored collaborative research and 

development agreements with external enterprises. The BMTTO is 

responsible for the oversight, management and protection of all intellectual 

property originating from the UCHSC campus. The office also works in 

collaboration with the University Technology Corporation (UTC), a separate 

501(c)3 organization that has contracted with the CU system to manage the 

technology transfer functions for CU. 

The Office of Diversity 

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The Office of Diversity was created in the fall of 1996, combining the 

resources of the Equal Opportunity Programs and the Center for Multicultural 

Enrichment. The office has strategic planning and monitoring responsibilities 

to ensure that diversity is woven into the infrastructure of the UCHSC. The 

office is divided into two components: affirmative action/equal opportunity 

and student services. 

The Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Section -- ensures that the 

recruitment and selection processes for faculty and exempt professionals 

(unclassified staff) are consistent with Regent policies as well as Federal 

and state laws and regulations. This section is also responsible for the 

implementation of and reporting on the Sexual Harassment Policy and 

oversight for the campus implementation of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act. 

The Student Services Section -- ensures that underrepresented minority 

students are considered for admission and are retained by the health 

professions programs of the UCHSC. 

UCHSC Information Systems (IS) 

Information Systems is responsible for providing information systems and 

communications products and services. The Information Systems 

department has been in the process of transition for the last several years. 

The service centers in Information Systems for 1996-97 were as follows: 

Help Desk: This unit provides first-line support for voice and data 

services such as telephone, voice mail, and computer applications. 

Network Services: This unit provides the technical support for the 

UCHSC network backbone. 

Campus Information Systems: This unit provides applied computing 

support for the data warehouse, the World Wide Web, and the campus 

central service departments. 

Telecommunications: This unit supports voice services including basic 

phone service; moves, adds and changes to voice and data service; long 

distance; and pagers. 

Computer Support Services: This unit provides computer hardware and 

software support, file server management, and network administrator 

support. 

Administration: This unit is the central service accounting and 

administrative support services for all Information Systems operations. 

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The Information Systems department has been in the process of transition 

for the last several years. A new Information Technology Council (ITC) was 

appointed in June 1996. The campus strategic plan for information 

technology was recently completed by the ITC. A copy of this plan is 

provided in Appendix F. 

Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance 

The vice chancellor for administration and finance is responsible for the activities 

of the associate vice chancellor for finance and budget, the assistant vice 

chancellors for business services and facilities and the director of planning. The 

vice chancellor has direct responsibility for the administrative and facility 

infrastructure of the UCHSC. 

Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Budget 

The associate vice chancellor is responsible for directing and coordinating the 

management of the budget office, finance office and the office of grants and 

contracts which constitute the campus financial services. 

Finance Office 

The Finance Office is responsible for the day-to-day financial operations of 

the UCHSC. Among the major responsibilities are monthly and annual 

financial reporting, reconciliation of data between the University’s accounting 

system and that of the State of Colorado, preparation of the indirect cost 

proposal, maintenance of space utilization records, preaudit of procurement 

documents, control of financial data flowing into the University’s financial 

reporting system, payroll reconciliation, maintenance of capital asset records, 

data entry for the University financial system, payment of UCHSC bills, 

control of travel tickets, award and issuance of scholarships and loans to 

students and cashiering and collection of student tuitions and fees. In 

addition, the department performs special fiscal analyses and studies as 

necessary. 

The Office of Grants and Contracts 

The Office of Grants and Contracts is responsible for directing and 

coordinating the administration of sponsored programs within the UCHSC. 

Specifically, the Office assists members of the UCHSC faculty and staff in 

the application for and receipt of grant and contract support, and maintains a 

library of sources of extramural support. The office administers grant and 

contract funds in accordance with sponsoring agency and University 

regulations and policies and recommends policy changes related to 

extramurally supported programs. 

Budget Office 

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The Budget Office is responsible for the state-appropriated budget of the 

campus and prepares the annual budget request and the annual operating 

budget, prepares answers to legislative questions, performs institutional 

research, develops outcomes data, and supports the campus allocation 

process and prepares materials for the system office and the Board of 

Regents. 

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services 

The assistant vice chancellor for business services provides management and 

leadership to the business services departments which include the Human 

Resources Department, the Purchasing Department, the Police Department, risk 

management, and materials management. 

The Human Resources Department 

The Human Resources Department is comprised of five divisions: human 

resources administration, employee benefits, employment/classification, 

payroll records, and training and employee relations. The department is 

responsible for administering a comprehensive human resources program for 

the UCHSC. The department is organized into the following six divisions: 

Human Resources Administration - Human resources administration is 

responsible for the oversight and direction of the remaining five divisions 

within the department. In addition, Human Resources administration has 

responsibility for administering the recruitment and hiring process for faculty 

and unclassified administrators. 

Employee Benefits Division - The employee benefits division ensures that all 

benefits-eligible employees are aware of and understand the benefits 

available to them. Active participation in University benefit policy 

development is the responsibility of this office. 

Employment/Classification - This division of the Human Resources 

Department has responsibilities in the areas of job evaluations, employment, 

performance planning and review, layoff procedures, student workers and 

the overall management of compliance with the Colorado State Personnel 

System as it pertains to the identified areas. 

Payroll/Records - the Payroll/Records Division of the Human Resources 

Department is responsible for accurately paying and maintaining records for 

the almost 6,000 active employees of UCHSC. In addition to payroll and 

record keeping, the unit has the following assignments: calculation and 

processing of court-ordered child support payments; government levies of 

back taxes; garnishments and bankruptcy payments; telephone and written 

verification of employment; expense transfers (journal entries) to transfer 

charges from one account to another; calculation and collection of over- 

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payments; enforcement of University of Colorado policies; and enforcement 

of Federal government regulations. 

Training and Employee Relations Division -- The Training and Employee 

Relations Division provides training opportunities to the faculty, unclassified, 

and classified staff of the institution as it relates to general managerial, 

supervisory, administrative activities, and matters of policy. Attendance at 

the programs is either mandatory, e.g., new employee orientation, or 

voluntary, e.g., performance planning and appraisal. 

The Risk Management Department 

The Risk Management Department provides expertise in the management of 

exposures and losses associated with the UCHSC property/casualty, liability, 

and workers’ compensation program. The mission of this department is to 

protect UCHSC assets (people, property, programs) from the adverse effects 

of accidental losses through administration of an effective risk management 

program. 

The Purchasing Department 

The Purchasing Department exists to procure equipment, goods, supplies, 

and services from external vendors, as requested from campus constituents, 

following established policies and in conformance with Colorado revised 

statutes. 

Materiel and Auxiliary Services Management 

This department is responsible for stocking and supplying high volume office 

and laboratory supplies to UCHSC departments and serving as the primary 

contact for problems related to shipping and receiving. This department is 

also responsible for the administration of other assigned auxiliary service 

units including the Mail Center, the Bookstore, Printing Services, records 

retention and the vending program. 

The Police Department 

The Police Department at the UCHSC provides the police, security, and 

community services assistance for the UCHSC and University Hospital 

campus. The Department is dedicated to serve the campus, its constituents, 

and its guests in a professional and courteous manner while ensuring their 

safety and security. 

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities 

The Office of the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Facilities works to ensure that the 

campus physical facilities are planned, designed, constructed, operated, 

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maintained and managed in a safe and effective manner to support the campus 

mission. The department is divided into nine divisions. 

Facilities Services 

This division is responsible for the operations, maintenance and repair of the 

on-campus building systems and grounds. Also included are the campus 

asset management program, power plant operations, grounds maintenance 

and housekeeping services. 

Project /Design/Construction Management 

This division is responsible for the design and construction of all remodels, 

renovations and additions to UCHSC facilities through the utilization of 

external designers and contractors. These include capital construction, 

infrastructure, utility and controlled maintenance projects. 

Offsite Facilities 

This division is responsible for the operations, maintenance and repair of the 

buildings and grounds at all UCHSC offsite facilities. This division is also 

responsible for leasing all new space and contracts with a real estate firm to 

assist with finding properties to lease. 

Administrative and Financial Services 

This division is responsible for the finance, budgeting and administrative 

functions of the department. 

Health and Safety 

This division is responsible for the health and safety of the campus 

community. Major programs include radiation safety, hazardous materials 

and waste control, industrial hygiene, fire safety and general safety. 

Internal Construction Services 

This unit is responsible for remodels and renovations to UCHSC facilities. 

Parking and Transportation Services 

This unit is responsible for the parking operations at the UCHSC as well as 

the motor pool and campus shuttle services. There are approximately 3,800 

parking spaces on campus. 

Project Planning 

This division is responsible for the planning phases, including CCHE program 

planning for UCHSC projects. 

Fitzsimons Operations 

This division is responsible for future facilities management at the Fitzsimons 

site. 

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Technology 

In June 1996, the Chancellor appointed an Information Technology Council (ITC) 

to create a strategic plan for the campus and recommend policies, procedures, 

and standards in computing and telecommunications. The ITC is comprised of a 

dean, faculty from each school, students, and other senior academic and 

administrative managers. In addition, three key affiliates are represented in order 

to maximize opportunities to implement joint standards. These affiliates include 

University Hospital, The Children’s Hospital, and University Physicians, Inc. The 

ITC provides the institutional structure for planning, oversight, and evaluation of 

technology programs and policies. The role of the ITC in establishing 

management priorities for the Information Systems Department is especially 

important. The ITC annually establishes the rate structure and budget for the 

Department based on institutional goals. The ITC commissions cost studies and 

other technical and management reviews to support their decisions on these 

matters. 

One year after its creation in 1996, the ITC prepared a self-assessment in nine 

key areas: academic computing, research computing, clinical computing, 

scholarly systems, health informatics, administrative applications, 

TeleHealth/TeleEducation, strategic business systems, and 

infrastructure/architecture. The assessment was completed as a precursor to the 

development of the vision statement and this plan, and as a mechanism to take 

stock of the issues regarding information technology within the UCHSC. The 

following is a summary of the findings in each of these areas regarding progress 

and challenges at UCHSC. 

Academic Computing 

In support of the Total Learning Environment, all schools are reviewing and 

updating portions of their curriculum. Efforts are underway in distance/distributed 

education, informatics, development of Internet sites, and enhancement of student 

computing. UCHSC Schools are considering the implementation of student 

competency requirements, faculty development programs are increasing, and 

several models for the incorporation of technology into new learning approaches 

are being implemented and evaluated. New learning spaces, including Smart 

Classrooms, are being created by remodeling existing spaces. Migration towards 

digitized files is providing vast new educational resources for faculty and students. 

Research Computing 

UCHSC investigators who rely upon scientific computing have generally 

developed stand-alone programs that are loosely integrated with other 

programmatic components and the campus IT infrastructure. Efforts over the last 

two years have resulted in minimal centralization of technical support. Biomedical 

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researchers believe that mathematical modeling of problems in human biology will 

require new research “cores” that expand access to high speed computing and 

experts in fields not currently located on the campus, such as mathematicians, 

computer scientists, engineers, and others who will rely upon a sophisticated 

computing environment. 

Clinical Computing 

The University Hospital Office of Clinical Affairs provides academic support to 

clinical programs on the use of clinical data for improving programs and providing 

data for research. The program in Health Outcomes Analyses is concerned with 

directly linking patient outcomes to the methods of providing clinical care. This 

work provides a foundation for the development of evidenced-based research, 

which in turn is applied to clinical practice and new education components. These 

efforts involve emerging disciplines and require greater integration of and access 

to data than is currently available at UCHSC/UH. The success of these efforts will 

ultimately depend on a fully integrated electronic patient record, which is still in the 

development stages at the institution. Relationships and common goals across 

the broader clinical enterprise (UCHSC and its key hospital affiliates) are 

supporting the move to common standards, thus establishing the goal of eventual 

integration. However, legacy systems, security, and similar issues create 

substantial challenges. 

Scholarly Systems 

The range of electronic scholarly resources available to UCHSC faculty and 

students has expanded to include: the Denison Library’s online catalog of local 

holdings and linkages to remote resources; bibliographic data bases; full-text 

books and journals; sound and image files; numeric and other data banks; 

specialized knowledge data bases; patient/consumer health information tools; 

digitized versions of print or audiovisual materials; and instructional computing 

programs. The campus needs to continue moving in the direction of making all 

tools available across the network and in adopting information standards that 

facilitate accomplishment of this goal. Resource constraints, lack of required IT 

competencies for faculty and students, unstable and unpredictable pricing of 

electronic products, and lack of national standards all create problems in moving 

forward at a faster pace. 

Health Informatics 

Health informatics is becoming an area of increasingly higher priority at UCHSC. 

The discipline and issues of health informatics have been the focus of efforts by 

selected faculty members for many years. Informatics faculty contribute new 

areas of research and are increasingly becoming critical team members of basic 

and applied research groups. Informatics faculty in all of the UCHSC schools are 

involved in the establishment of faculty development programs, student 

competency issues, and IT infrastructure planning. The rate at which informatics 

components are integrated into the curricula across the schools is accelerating 

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rapidly. However, many of these efforts have not been coordinated, resulting in 

varying degrees of duplication and minimal interdisciplinary collaboration. 

Administrative Applications 

The University of Colorado has embarked upon an ambitious program to replace 

its antiquated and inefficient financial and payroll systems with state-of-the-art 

integrated financial and human resource systems. The School of Dentistry and 

the Colorado Psychiatric Hospitals are completing initiatives to replace their 

patient service systems. Underlying the success of the current and future 

administrative systems are requirements for a robust, dependable, secure, and 

cost-effective network. The move of many administrative support units to the 

Fitzsimons campus in 1998 will create greater demands for paperless systems, 

decentralized decision-making, and modernization of business practices, all of 

which will depend on greater applications of technology. 

TeleHealth/TeleEducation 

The UCHSC recognizes that TeleHealth and TeleEducation programs have the 

potential to support the delivery of health care in a more efficient manner and help 

generate revenue for clinical programs. Several successful programs are in 

place, including a TeleHealth contract for services between the Department of 

Corrections, UCHSC and selected affiliates. The institution continues to struggle 

to find a model for contractual agreement that not only results in savings and 

improved health care, but that also generates revenue adequate to cover all direct 

and indirect expenses. This is a national dilemma and will require regulatory, 

legal, and other solutions before these programs can expand to meet their original 

promise. UCHSC is committed to maintaining a core of TeleHealth services and 

will expand services where new partnerships are mutually beneficial. 

Strategic Business Systems 

The UCHSC and its key affiliated hospitals are engaged in the development of 

market strategies that will increase the competitiveness of the entire clinical 

enterprise. University Hospital has made significant investment in new 

infrastructure and applications to support these strategies, including: scheduling 

systems, managed care systems, clinical repository and master patient index 

systems, and a world-class network infrastructure engineered in partnership with 

3Com. Changing alliances, the need for standards and security, and a lack of 

comprehensive or linked applications create challenges for the development of 

strategic business systems. 

Infrastructure and Architecture 

The UCHSC Information Systems Department has made major strides in planning 

and implementation, resulting in major improvements in the campus infrastructure. 

Standards have been established before the end of the current fiscal year for the 

existing campus and for the new Fitzsimons campus in 12 areas: wire and cable, 

cable management and closet wiring, telecommunications, network electronics, 

II-47



network protocols, network security, microcomputers and workstations, file 

servers and application servers, desktop application software, application 

development tools, groupware suites, and help desk services. These standards 

were developed in cooperation with University Hospital in order to provide 

consistency, reliability, and a seamless appearance to faculty, students, and staff 

who are the customers of both institutions. The backbone of the campus network 

is being replaced and upgraded in 1998-1999, new customer service goals have 

been established, and the campus is moving toward a model of centralized file 

servers. Other initiatives are being made consistent with the University’s Total 

Cost of Ownership Initiative. 

C. MARKET ANALYSIS 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital 

engaged Chi Systems, a division of Superior Consultant Company, Inc., on 

January 30, 1998, to perform a market analysis encompassing the Health 

Sciences Center’s three enterprises: research, education, and clinical services. 

As part of the clinical services analysis, Chi Systems was asked to examine in 

greater depth two of the programs slated to be relocated to the Fitzsimons 

campus: the Cancer Center and Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute. The market 

analysis used data from a variety of sources including the Health Sciences 

Center, University Hospital, and the Colorado Health and Hospital Association, 

and Chi Systems’ experiences working with academic medical centers across the 

country. In addition, extensive literature and Internet searches were conducted to 

assure that the most current information was used for the analysis. 

The complete market analysis may be found in Appendix E. An executive 

summary of the findings related to each of the three enterprises follows. 

Education 

Common to all of the schools that comprise the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center is their movement toward curriculum integration and their 

commitment to create a total learning environment at Fitzsimons. While each of 

the schools has unique professional issues, their common interests and concerns 

are growing, as evidenced by the market analysis findings. Shared issues include: 

• The need to be able to assess patient outcomes quantitatively 

• The increasing use of interprofessional teams to address complex patient 

needs 

• The demand for patient-centered care 

• The increased use of computers in all aspects of their work 

• The need to be able to supervise and work with people who have 

complementary but fewer skills 

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Key findings for each of the schools follow. 

School of Dentistry (Doctor of Dental Surgery) 

The dental profession is experiencing rapid change as a result of the following: 

• Increased emphasis on outcomes assessment 

• Greater numbers of medically complicated patients 

• Increased use of computer technology in both teaching and patient care 

• Greater emphasis on patient-centered care 

• Increased diversity among students, faculty, and staff 

• More care provided by teams of interdisciplinary professionals 

• Stronger ties with physicians 

• Increased use of hygienists 

• Need for cost-efficient practice management 

• Demand for post-doctoral education 

• Migration toward specialty practices (e.g., oral-maxillo-facial, geriatrics, 

orthodontics) 

Because of space limitations, the School of Dentistry has forecast a stable class 

size over the next ten years. This assumption would be revisited if additional 

space became available. Currently, supply exceeds demand for dentists, 

although this may change in the future as the population ages and grows. In the 

United States, there are 58 dentists per 100,000 population. In Colorado, this 

number is 67, although the ratio is higher in Metro Denver where 66% of the 

state’s dentists serve 54% of the state’s population. In the US as in Colorado, 

approximately 80% of all dentists are in general practice. 

Nationally, dental school enrollments have varied widely over the past 20 years. 

In 1980, nearly 23,000 students were enrolled. By 1995, this number had 

dropped to 16,600. Since 1985, six private dental schools have closed, and in 

1991-92, the nation’s 55 dental schools reported a combined loss of $60 million. 

Losses and closures are attributable to decreases in state funding and to the fact 

that cross-subsidization opportunities from research and clinical fees is limited. 

Should these trends continue, a national shortage of dentists could occur between 

2005 and 2010. 

The School of Dentistry at the UCHSC offers the only DDS degree in Colorado 

and attracts more than 20 applicants for every available position. Ample 

opportunities exist to offer programs at the master’s level to meet forecast 

demand. The following table displays five years of enrollment trend data. 

SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY (DDS) ENROLLMENT TRENDS: 1992 THROUGH 1996 

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1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 

Applicants 578 648 758 890 914 

Enrollments 37 36 35 36 36 

Applicants Per Available Place 15.6 18.0 21.7 24.7 25.4 

Headcount 128 139 140 140 140 

School of Dentistry (Dental Hygiene) 

The number of schools that train dental hygienists increased from 197 in 1990 to 

214 in 1997. Of these, 72 were in university settings and 5 offered a master’s 

degree. Only 21, including the UCHSC, offer baccalaureate programs. Since 

1982, 15 university-based dental hygiene programs have closed, as more and 

more two-year programs have been developed in community college-type 

settings. 

Most of the professional issues affecting dentists also pertain to dental hygienists, 

suggesting opportunities to bring them together more frequently during the 

education process. 

The table that follows shows enrollment trend data for the dental hygiene 

program. As demand continues to grow for professionals to support and work 

with dentists, this program should consider expanding to meet the demand. 

SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY (DENTAL HYGIENE) ENROLLMENT TRENDS: 1992 

THROUGH 1996 

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 

Applicants 40 65 65 62 106 

Enrollments 20 20 20 20 20 

Applicants Per Available Place 2.0 3.3 3.3 3.1 5.3 

Headcount 39 38 41 40 39 

School of Medicine (Medical Doctor and Graduate Medical Education) 

Enrollments in the nation’s 125 medical schools have been relatively constant 

since 1989 at less than 67,000 students, with nearly 16,000 graduating each year. 

Similarly, the enrollments and graduates at the UCHSC have been relatively 

constant at 534 and 127, respectively. No changes are forecast in the future. The 

following table is a summary of medical school activity in selected years. 

SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE: ACTIVITY IN SELECTED YEARS 

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1989-90 1993-94 1996-97 

National Enrollment 65,081 66,453 66,712 

National Graduates 15,336 15,579 15,904 

National Schools 127 126 125 

UCHSC Enrollment 530 534 534 

UCHSC Graduates 128 121 127 

Although US enrollments and graduates have remained constant, applications 

have increased significantly, from slightly more than 29,000 in 1990 to nearly 

47,000 in 1996. The increase in Colorado residents applying to medical schools 

has grown at an even greater rate, increasing from 373 in 1990 to 814 in 1996. 

While US medical school enrollments have remained steady for some period of 

time, the number of physicians has increased as a result of more international 

medical graduates (IMG) coming to the US for residency training and then 

remaining to enter medical practice. Had this not occurred, the US would not be 

experiencing an oversupply of physicians. Nationally, 23% of medical residents 

graduated from a medical school outside of the US in 1994; in Colorado in that 

same year, only 6% of medical residents were IMGs. In an effort to discourage 

residency training programs from contributing to the oversupply of physicians, the 

Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) has recommended: 

• that the number of residencies be limited to 110% of US medical school 

graduates 

• that Medicare funding for IMGs be reduced by 75% 

COGME has also recommended a 25% increase in Medicare funding for 

generalist residency positions to try to correct the balance between specialists and 

primary care physicians. As a result of COGME recommendations, the Health 

Care Financing Administration (HCFA) limited the number of positions funded by 

Medicare and reduced indirect medical education (IME) funding. Continued 

reductions in funding likely will require the UCHSC to downsize its residency 

programs. 

The School of Medicine does not produce enough MD graduates, who remain in 

Colorado, to meet the state’s need although Colorado has a surplus of physicians. 

Colorado’s physician-to-population ratio is 219; the recommended ratio is 165 per 

100,000 population. The state’s surplus results from the number of physicians 

who come from other states to practice in Colorado. 

School of Medicine (Physical Therapy) 

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The number of physical therapists (PT) practicing in the US in 1993 was 

approximately 90,000, or one PT for every 2,800 Americans. In Colorado, the 

ratio was 1 for every 1,500 residents. Settings in which these professionals work 

have changed significantly in recent years as evidenced by the fact that in 1983: 

• 42% worked in hospitals, declining to 22% by 1996 (although vacancy rates 

in hospitals continue to be high) 

• 6% worked in nursing homes in 1983, increasing to 13% by 1996 

As the population ages and as PTs move into such areas as sports medicine, 

athletic training, and geriatrics, the demand for them may double by 2005, 

particularly if there is pent-up demand currently as a result of poor insurance 

coverage. To meet the demand, which is forecast to exceed supply for the next 

10 years, healthcare providers are making greater use of physical therapy 

assistants and aides. 

From an educational perspective, the number of programs educating PTs 

increased 175% between 1970 and 1993. Currently, there are 173 accredited 

programs; annual graduates totaled 4,600 in 1993. Program changes are 

underway in many of the schools as some move toward longer entry-level 

programs that feature either additional didactic or clinical practice time; some are 

shortening the training period for students with science or health-related 

backgrounds; yet others are cross training professionals who perform similar 

types of work. 

Until 1994 when Regis University initiated its physical therapy program, the 

UCHSC offered the only PT degree in Colorado. Regis enrolls 54 students 

annually. The table below summarizes activity in the PT program in the School of 

Medicine. Headcount at the UCHSC increased 16% over the six-year period. 

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE (PHYSICAL THERAPY) ENROLLMENT TRENDS: 1992 

THROUGH 1996 

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 

Applicants 417 461 408 475 468 414 

Enrollments 57 60 63 62 62 62 

Applicants Per Available 

Place 7.3 7.7 6.5 7.7 7.5 6.7 

Headcount 104 111 118 121 120 121 

School of Medicine (Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant) 

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The Child Health Associate (CHA) program is unique to the UCHSC. Graduates 

are considered to be physician assistants (PA), joining 35,000 other similar 

professionals in the US. Physician Assistant training occurs in 96 accredited 

programs, 53 of which offer a baccalaureate degree or degree option. The only 

PA program in Colorado, UCHSC receives 10 to 13 applications for every 

available place. Between 1992 and 1997, headcount increased 45%, from 55 to 

80. Future plans call for a headcount of 120 by 2001-2002. Opportunities abound 

to expand the areas in which students specialize (e.g., gynecology, geriatrics, 

surgery, occupational medicine). 

As with most other health professions, Colorado employs more per 100,000 

population than the US as a whole, 11 and 9, respectively. Nationally, the 

demand for physician assistants is so great that seven job opportunities exist for 

every graduate. Demand may increase to even greater levels as states pass laws 

that grant appropriate privileges to physician assistants. Slightly more than onethird 

of the PAs in the US work in rural areas which lack an adequate number of 

primary care providers. As with other healthcare professions, PAs are being 

viewed increasingly as valuable members of the healthcare team, particularly as 

managed care organizations assigning teams of physicians, physician assistants, 

and nurse practitioners to provide efficient, cost-effective healthcare. 

School of Medicine (Doctor of Philosophy, Basic and Clinical Sciences) 

In 1995, 122 medical schools enrolled approximately 18,600 PhDs and MD-PhDs, 

about 24% of whom held temporary or permanent visas. Between 1992 and 

1997, enrollment in these programs at the UCHSC increased from 129 to 176 

students. Of interest is the fact that there is a trend toward awarding 

interdisciplinary rather than departmental degrees. 

Generally, PhDs in the basic sciences are employed as full-time faculty in medical 

schools or as researchers in the pharmaceutical industry. Most studies, although 

not all, find that there is no over-supply of PhDs in the basic sciences. The future 

looks bright for these graduates as a result of forecast growth in NIH funding over 

the next three to five years. Forecast class size at the UCHSC appears to be 

appropriate over the next five years. 

The UCHSC is offering a new degree, PhD in Clinical Sciences, which trains 

students in outcomes assessment. 

School of Medicine (Master of Public Health) 

While public health is not defined consistently or clearly among the 300+ schools 

that offer some type of training in this discipline, increasingly the field is attracting 

established healthcare professionals (physicians, nurses, and so forth) who 

II-53



understand the importance of incorporating principles of epidemiology and 

biostatistics in their areas of practice. Practitioners focused on disease prevention 

efforts have also found value in the MPH curriculum. 

The Master of Public Health degree is offered through the Department of 

Preventive Medicine. The UCHSC’s plans call for exploring the feasibility of 

developing a School of Public Health, doubling the size of the program, and 

possibly offering a degree in healthcare informatics. 

School of Nursing (BSN, MSN, PhD, ND) 

Nationally, enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs decreased 6% between 

1996, and 1997, the third consecutive decrease, in spite of the belief that the 

demand for BSN-prepared nurses is going to continue to exceed the demand for 

associate-degree and diploma nurses. The number of programs offering advance 

practice nursing (APN) courses is growing although many who earn these 

degrees are not employed in an APN role. Doctoral program enrollments across 

the country are down, largely as a result of a lack of faculty involved in research. 

Locally, the UCHSC nursing school enrollments declined between 1992 and 1997, 

as indicated in the following table. 

SCHOOL OF NURSING ENROLLMENTS: 1992 AND 1997 

1992 1997 

BSN 120 68 

MSN 97 77 

Nursing Doctorate 20 28 

PhD 17 11 

Total 254 184 

The RN-to-BSN Completion option was discontinued in 1993. A number of other 

Colorado schools offer nursing degrees at the baccalaureate and master’s level, 

although no other programs offer training beyond the master’s level. Beth-El, 

Regis, and University of Northern Colorado continue to offer the RN-to-BSN 

completion. Six other schools offer BSN programs and four others offer the MSN, 

with a fifth contemplating such a program. No other schools in Colorado offer the 

PhD in nursing; only three others in the US offer the Nursing Doctorate degree. 

To meet a growing demand for nurses trained in critical care and certain specialty 

areas, the School of Nursing offers intensive, non-degree, short-term courses. As 

shortages are forecast to occur in intensive care, post-acute care, home care, and 

long-term care, the UCHSC may need to increase the number of these course 

offerings to meet demand. As in other healthcare professions that are in short 

II-54



supply, providers with fewer skills (in this case, licensed practical nurses and 

certified nurse aides) are being hired to try to address personnel shortages. 

Of particular concern among those who employ registered nurses is the fact that 

the workforce is aging. The average age of RNs in 1980 was 40; it is now 44. As 

the demand for nurses continues to grow significantly, particularly in non-hospital 

settings, schools of nursing must examine their curricula and policies related to 

class size to regain balance between supply and demand. 

While Colorado hospitals report shortages of nurses skilled in particular areas, the 

state continues to report better ratios of RNs per 1,000 population than the US as 

a whole, as reflected in the following table. The proportion of Colorado nurses 

whose training goes beyond two or three years also exceeds that found in the US 

as a whole. 

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REGISTERED NURSES IN THE US AND IN COLORADO: 1994 AND 1995 

US 

COLORADO 

1994 1995 1994 1995 

Total RNs 2,044,000 2,090,000 30,500 32,000 

RNs per 1,000 Population 7.93 7.98 8.59 8.54 

Associate Degree and 1,227,000 1,247,000 13,300 13,400 

Diploma 

BSN 643,100 664,400 13,400 14,000 

MSN and Doctorate 173,900 184,400 3,900 4,300 

School of Pharmacy (PharmD and PhD) 

Over the past four years, enrollments at the 79 colleges and schools of pharmacy 

in the US averaged 33,000 each year, although enrollment increased 42% 

between 1984 and 1996. Of these graduates, more than one-third were enrolled 

in PharmD programs with two-thirds in baccalaureate programs. Between 1989 

and 1996, PharmD graduates increased by 142%, from 1,061 to 2,567. 

Consistent with trends nationwide, the UCHSC School of Pharmacy is phasing out 

its baccalaureate program in favor of the four-year PharmD as a first professional 

degree. A track-in option is attracting pharmacists interested in furthering their 

education and the level of interest should accelerate the transition to the single, 

four-year, entry-level PharmD program. 

Pharmacists are yet another healthcare profession that is growing each year. In 

1990, 169,000 pharmacists were employed in the US; by 1996, their ranks 

numbered 172,000. Per 100,000 population, pharmacists number 65. By 2005, 

this number is expected to grow to 68. Colorado boasts 3,700 licensed 

pharmacists, resulting in a ratio that approaches 100 per 100,000 population. 

Increasingly, pharmacists are found working in hospitals as part of 

interprofessional teams dedicated to improving healthcare. More and more, 

pharmacists are leaving commercial pharmacies and moving to positions in 

hospitals, long-term care facilities, ambulatory care facilities, and home care 

programs. Growth is also forecast for pharmacists interested in research, disease 

management, and pharmacoeconomics. 

The School of Pharmacy also offers two PhD programs. The 22 students enrolled 

in these programs are likely to be in demand for new employment opportunities in 

biotechnology industries and gene therapy as well as for faculty positions. 

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Allied Health 

The number of allied health professionals in the US likely approaches six million, 

although counts are difficult given lack of agreement as to what constitutes an 

“allied health professional.” Some estimates suggest that this group accounts for 

60% of the nation’s healthcare workers, a sizable group for which no substantive 

data are available. 

Despite the lack of good data, most sources believe that the allied health 

professions will continue to grow despite various barriers to their ability to practice 

to their full potential. A number of barriers contribute to this dilemma, including: 

• Resistance to change and “turf protection” on the part of health professionals 

• Lack of awareness of allied health competencies on the part of employers, 

other providers, and payers 

• Unnecessarily restrictive and inconsistent laws regarding licensure and 

scope-of-practice regulations 

• Eliminating these barriers could have some positive consequences, 

including: 

• Increasing the availability of services to the community 

• Facilitating the development of innovative delivery systems 

• Improving availability of allied health professionals 

• Encouraging role expansion 

• Decreasing the cost of healthcare 

While it is difficult to quantify society’s need for allied health professionals, there is 

a growing demand for multi-skilled healthcare professionals who can direct a team 

of healthcare providers with varying skills and training. These multi-skilled 

providers must also be able to evaluate the impact of clinical decisions on the cost 

of care as pressure increasingly is brought to bear on professionals to justify the 

value of diagnostic and therapeutic services. 

Research 

Health research funds come from a variety of sources, with the majority of dollars 

awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by private industry. The 

following table shows the dollars funded by each of five major sources in 1989 

II-57



and eight years later in 1997. Of particular interest is the fact that the percent of 

funds coming from NIH decreased from 36% to 28% of the total, and funds from 

industry (82% of which comes from pharmaceutical companies) increased, from 

45% to 54% of the total. 

NATIONAL FUNDING SOURCES: HEALTH RESEARCH MARKET, 1989 AND 1997 

(in billions of dollars) 

1989 1997 

Funding Source $ % of Total $ % of Total 

NIH $7.5 36% $121 28% 

All Other Federal 1.7 8% 3.2 8% 

State and Local Government 1.5 7% 2.8 7% 

Industry 9.4 45% 23.1 54% 

Private, Non-Profit .9 4% 1.4 3% 

Total $21.0 100% $426 100% 

In 1989, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) ranked 30 th 

in NIH funding, receiving .61% of all NIH dollars awarded for research. By 1994, 

shortly after the Biomedical Research Building (BRB) was completed, the Health 

Sciences Center’s NIH rank had improved to 19 th place, and its share of dollars to 

.77%. Two years later, in 1996, the Health Sciences Center’s NIH rank had 

slipped to 22 nd as a result of increased research space, and related increases in 

funding, at other academic medical centers. 

One of the Health Sciences Center’s goals is to be among the top ten medical 

schools in terms of research funding. The table that follows shows the top ten 

schools, as determined by the research funds they received from NIH in 1996, 

how their respective rankings have changed since 1989, and the percentage by 

which the NIH funds changed over that seven-year period. The Health Sciences 

Center funding increase was nearly double the average increase (90% compared 

to 46%), bringing it from 30 th to 22 nd place. With a 90% increase, the Health 

Sciences Center ranked fifth among the top fifty medical schools in terms of NIH 

funding increases. Schools with greater percentage increases included Jefferson 

Medical College, Case Western Reserve, Northwestern, and Indiana. The 

schools which experienced significant increases in either funding or rank were 

ones which focused their attention on increasing research space, aligning with 

large pharmaceutical companies, recruiting renowned researchers, securing 

funding from multiple sources, and developing programs in such areas as 

genetics and neurosciences. 

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TRENDS IN NIH FUNDING AMONG THE TOP TEN MEDICAL SCHOOLS 

1996 Rank 1989 Rank Change % Increase 

Johns Hopkins 1 2 +1 53% 

UCSF 2 1 -1 29% 

Washington University 3 5 +2 73% 

Yale University 4 3 -1 40% 

University of 

5 9 +4 82% 

Pennsylvania 

University of 

6 6 - 47% 

Washington 

Stanford 7 4 -3 26% 

Duke 8 8 - 49% 

University of Michigan 9 10 +1 50% 

Case Western Reserve 10 26 +16 131% 

Average 46% 

UCHSC 22 30 +8 90% 

The Health Sciences Center’s market share in each of the five research funding 

sources is shown in the table below. Increases in market share were experienced 

in each of the five categories between 1992 and 1994, although growth was not 

sustained uniformly over the following three years. 

UCHSC HEALTH RESEARCH MARKET SHARE BASED ON AWARDS IN SELECTED 

YEARS 

1989 1992 1994 1997 

NIH .61% .60% .77% .74% 

All Other Federal .49% .48% .52% .55% 

State and Local Government .29% .40% .46% .53% 

Industry .03% .05% .08% .07% 

Private, Non-Profit 1.11% 1.34% 1.37% 1.10% 

Total .34% .34% .40% .36% 

As the table above indicates, the Health Sciences Center’s share of NIH funds in 

1997 was .74%. This number represents the average market share across all of 

the institutes that comprise NIH. As the following table indicates, market share 

varied considerably by institute, ranging from a high of 1.95% (Alcohol Abuse and 

Alcoholism) to a low of .12% (Eye Institute). 

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UCHSC MARKET SHARE BY NIH INSTITUTE: FY 1997 

NIH Institute 

% Market Share 

HIGHEST Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1.95 

Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases 1.89 

Research Resources 1.43 

Nursing Research 1.41 

Mental Health 1.08 

Average .74 

LOWEST Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin 

.28 

Diseases 

Dental .14 

Eye Institute .12 

Research dollars funded by NIH exceeded inflation between 1989 and 1997 and 

are expected to continue to grow at a rate greater than inflation in the near-term. 

Although NIH is the largest single source of funding for academic medical centers, 

it has grown the least of the major funding sources. 

NIH is currently and will continue to be a significant source of health research 

funding. The top six areas that NIH is emphasizing in awarding research grants 

include: 

• Cancer 

• Diabetes 

• Nervous System Disorders 

• Cardiovascular Disease 

• Infectious Diseases 

• Clinical Trials 

As the Health Sciences Center forecasts research dollars likely to be awarded 

over the next five years, several likely scenarios emerge. The table below shows 

a range of possibilities from a moderate increase to a moderate decrease. Market 

share in 1997 was .36%; total research funding was $154 million. 

RESEARCH FUNDING FORECAST: 2003 

Market Share Total Funding % Change in 

Funding 

Moderate Increase .38% $247 million 60% 

No Change .34% $222 Million 44% 

Moderate Decrease .30% $196 Million 27% 

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As the preceding data indicate, the Health Sciences Center has experienced 

significant growth in research funding over the past eight years and has ample 

opportunity to continue that trend given the likelihood that NIH and industry will 

increase research funding. To achieve growth, however, requires that research 

activity, including participation in clinical trials, be expanded aggressively. Critical 

to the Health Sciences Center’s ability to expand its research presence and, thus, 

enhance its rank among academic medical centers, is the need to: 

• increase research space 

• recruit renowned researchers 

• develop or expand programs in such areas as genetics, neurosciences, and 

cancer; pursue funding from private sources (industry) 

• shore up the areas which are not securing adequate research funds. 

CLINICAL CARE 

Healthcare has undergone rapid change as a result of significant changes in 

reimbursement and care delivery. Some of the more significant changes include: 

• Medicare moving away from reimbursing hospitals on a “cost-plus” basis 

• Increasing numbers of people switching from traditional indemnity insurance 

to managed care plans 

• Improvements in anesthesia and surgical technique which moved many 

procedures from inpatient to lower-cost outpatient settings 

• Payment changes, particularly by Medicare, that encouraged hospitals to 

move patients into such lower-cost settings as transitional care units, skilled 

nursing care, and home health 

• Out-of-pocket expenditures for complementary medicine exceeding those 

related to “mainstream” medicine 

In combination, these events caused hospitals to reexamine how and where they 

provide care. No longer is the traditional hospital building an appropriate place to 

house the full continuum of services required by a population that is increasingly 

comprised of older citizens and increasingly populated by individuals living outside 

of the core city. To be competitive in this new environment requires that 

healthcare providers re-think where services are located and how they are 

delivered. Hospitals affiliated with academic health centers have yet an additional 

challenge: how to integrate research and education into care delivery at a price 

that can compete with sophisticated community hospitals. 

This story is being played out across the country, but is particularly relevant in 

metropolitan Denver where the competition is keen, managed care has 

proliferated virtually every type of public and private payer, and patient 

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expectations are high. University Hospital is challenged daily to meet diverse and 

often conflicting demands in its delivery of care to hundreds of thousands of 

people living in the Rocky Mountain Region. 

Somewhat offsetting the decline in the utilization of the healthcare delivery system 

in Colorado is population growth. In 1997, the metropolitan Denver population 

was slightly greater than 2.1 million, and is expected to increase 14% to nearly 2.5 

million by 2008. Colorado’s population, at 3.9 million in 1997, is expected to grow 

18% over the next ten years to nearly 4.6 million. As a percent of Colorado’s 

population, people age 65 and over—who use healthcare services at four times 

the rate of the rest of the population—are expected to comprise 12.5% of the 

population by 2008, up from the current 10.9%. 

The inpatient market in Colorado is big business. In 1996, 392,000 people were 

patients in Colorado hospitals, generating more than 1.6 million patient days and 

$3.8 billion in charges. The number of inpatient days generated per 1,000 

population was 434 in 1996, a significant reduction from the 590 experienced in 

1991. Experiences in other states (e.g., California) suggest that this number will 

continue to decline, although the rate of decline will diminish as a result of the 

aging population and as a result of legislation aimed at “protecting” consumers 

who believe they have been discharged from hospitals prematurely. In spite of 

these mitigating factors, Colorado likely will experience use rates of around 375 in 

the next few years. 

Among Colorado hospitals, University Hospital is a market leader in several 

important areas including cancer, kidney disease, solid organ transplants, and 

psychiatry. In each of these areas, University Hospital enjoys statewide market 

share of at least 12%, compared to its average share of 4.5%. Services which 

experience market shares of less than 4.5% include dermatology, general 

surgery, heart services, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pulmonary, 

rheumatology, urology, and women’s and infants’ services. 

The following table summarizes important characteristics about University 

Hospital, all Denver hospitals, and all Colorado hospitals for 1995 and 1996. 

University Hospital’s average length of stay is higher than the average for other 

hospitals in the state, but declined nearly 8% between 1995 and 1996. Average 

charges, per stay and per day, at University Hospital are higher than the average 

although the average per day increased only 3% between 1995 and 1996 while 

the average for all Denver hospitals increased 11% during that same period of 

time. 

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HOSPITAL CHARACTERISTICS: 1995 AND 1996 

1995 1996 

Colorado Denver UNIV HOSP Colorado Denver UNIV HOSP 

Discharges 388,269 230,127 15,373 393,505 232,023 16,068 

Pt Days 1,706,330 1,030,518 78,332 1,672,138 994,397 75,852 

ADC 4,675 2,823 215 4,581 2,724 208 

ALOS 4.4 4.5 5.1 4.2 4.3 4.7 

Total Charges $3.55 billion $2.27 billion $239.9 million $3.83 billion $2.44 billion $240.4 million 

Avg Charge/Stay $9,141 $9,858 $15,607 $9,743 $10,507 $14,960 

Avg Charge/Day $2,080 $2,201 $3,063 $2,293 $2,452 $3,169 

ADC = Average Daily Census 

ALOS = Average Length of Stay 

In the recent past, Denver boasted 22 independent hospitals, nearly all of which 

were not-for-profit. Today, with mergers and closures, three healthcare systems 

dominate the metropolitan area: Centura Health, Columbia, and Exempla. 

University Hospital is a member of HealthCare Colorado, a statewide hospital 

network. Between 1992 and 1996, Centura Health and Columbia both gained 

market share within metropolitan Denver, while Exempla lost market share. 

University Hospital gained market share over this 5-year period, increasing from 

6.3% in 1992 to 6.9% in 1996. 

University Hospital’s patients are more dispersed than normally is found in a 

community hospital. The six-county metro Denver area is home to 78% of the 

inpatients, while 14% live in other parts of Colorado, and 8% traveled to University 

Hospital from other states. These numbers vary significantly by product line, with 

a greater percentage of those seeking quaternary care (e.g., solid organ 

transplants) traveling from outside the metro area. As one might expect, the 

outpatient demographics are slightly different, with 86% residing in the six-county 

metro area, 10% in other parts of Colorado, and only 4% from other states. 

As inpatient volumes have decreased, ambulatory care visits have increased. 

Between 1994 and 1997, the number of visits to University Hospital’s primary care 

clinics doubled. Much of this success is attributable to the hospital’s foresight to 

place these clinics throughout the metropolitan area, close to area residents’ 

homes. As more specialty care is redirected toward primary care providers, fewer 

visits are occurring in the specialty clinics. During that same four-year period, 

visits to the hospital’s specialty clinics remained constant. To reduce 

inappropriate use of high-cost emergency services, University Hospital 

implemented two programs, CU Care and urgent care. Among the three 

programs, volume has increased although emergency room visits have declined 

significantly. 

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Critical to any hospital’s success are payer mix, charity care, and bad debt. The 

chart below shows how University Hospital’s payer mix changed between 1993 

and 1996 compared to changes experienced by Denver and all Colorado 

hospitals. University’s percent of government payers (Medicare and Medicaid) 

increased from 46% in 1993 to 48% three years later, suggesting the likelihood 

that average reimbursement, adjusted for inflation, decreased during that time. 

The percent of government payers among all Colorado hospitals remained 

constant at 42% over the period, although Medicare increased as a percent of the 

total and Medicaid decreased. 

PAYER MIX IN COLORADO HOSPITALS: 1993 AND 1996 

1993 1996 

Medicare Medicaid Other Medicare Medicaid Other 

University Hospital 21% 25% 54% 22% 26% 52% 

All Denver Hospitals 27% 13% 60% 27% 11% 62% 

All Colorado Hospitals 30% 14% 56% 32% 12% 56% 

University Hospital, when compared to other Denver hospitals, provided more 

than its fair share of charity care in 1996 and experienced a higher percentage of 

bad debt, as shown in the following table. Only Denver Health Medical Center 

fared worse in both categories. 

PERCENT OF CHARITY CARE AND BAD DEBT IN DENVER HOSPITALS: 1996 

Charity Care Bad Debt 

Denver Health Medical Center 28% 11.3% 

University Hospital 12% 3.5% 

All Other Denver Hospitals < 2.0% < 3.0% 

All Denver Hospitals 4.5% 2.9% 

As hospitals become more sophisticated, more expensive, and more competitive, 

directing precious resources to specific product lines becomes increasingly 

important. The following is a summary of the key findings related to product line 

trends that are likely to impact University Hospital’s future. 

• Inpatient volumes are likely to continue to decrease, although the rate of 

decrease may diminish, as a result of: 

- Improvements in post-operative recovery 

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- Shifts from invasive to less or non-invasive procedures 

- Movement from inpatient to outpatient surgery 

- Lower birth rates 

- Shift from acute care to alternative settings (outpatient, physician 

offices, day programs, post-acute units, assisted living, home care, 

home telemedicine) 

- Earlier detection, greater prevention 

- Improvements in such technologies as lasers, diagnostic imaging, 

robotics, telemedicine, and laparoscopy 

- New drug therapies and biological response modifiers 

• Physicians will continue to compete with hospitals for patients, with 

specialists in particular creating niche products in such areas as cancer, 

dermatology, heart, endocrinology, and orthopedics. For-profit, niche firms 

are also emerging to compete in several of these areas. 

• Increased use of multidisciplinary approaches to diagnosis and treatment 

• Increased emphasis on self-care 

• Increased emphasis on disease management, particularly in such areas as 

diabetes, asthma, congestive heart failure, and kidney disease 

• Greater intervention by and pressures from payers to steer patients away 

from costly specialists to lower-cost providers 

• Limiting or eliminating payment for procedures that are borderline “medically 

necessary” 

• Events likely to mitigate against the reduction in inpatient services include: 

- Increased demand for quaternary services and “dual-trained” specialists 

(e.g., neurologists expert in pain management; endocrinologists with indepth 

knowledge of cellular, molecular biology, and genetics; medical 

oncologists with training in geriatric medicine) 

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- An aging population, which will increase demand for cancer care, dental 

care, ophthalmological services, orthopedic surgery, and rheumatology, 

to name a few 

- Growth in the number of ethnic minorities who exhibit higher rates of 

such diseases as diabetes 

Other trends likely to affect University Hospital include: 

• Nationwide reductions in many medical residency training programs (e.g., 

anesthesiology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, radiation oncology) 

• Greater use of computer technology, particularly to measure financial and 

operational performance and to track patient outcomes 

• Linking physician payment to patient satisfaction 

• Reductions in payments to specialists 

• Moving Medicaid eligibles into managed care programs 

• Medicare eligibles selecting managed care programs 

The clinical services market analysis concludes with forecasts as to what the 

future holds for this enterprise. The following table shows for University Hospital 

the forecast for inpatient days and beds at two different levels of market share. 

(The hospital’s current statewide market share is 4.54%). Bed need is calculated 

on the basis of overall occupancy of 74%. A declining use rate—expressed as 

patient days per 1,000 population—is assumed, based on the 1995 rate of 458. 

Using a relatively constant market share, University Hospital will experience a 

slight increase in patient days. If the hospital can achieve a 5% market share, 

patient days will increase 11% between 1996 and 2008. 

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL PATIENT DAY FORECAST AND BED NEED: 2002 AND 2008 

1996 2002 2008 

Patient Days Per 1,000 Population in Colorado 437 378 371 

At this market share 

UH patient days = 

Bed need = 

4.54% 

74,697 

277 

4.65% 

73,216 

270 

4.65% 

76,935 

285 

At this market share 

UH patient days = 

Bed need = 

4.54% 

74,697 

277 

4.65% 

73,216 

270 

5.00% 

82,726 

306 

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Surgery volumes, both inpatient and outpatient, were also forecast. The forecast 

assumes that market share remains constant at 2.6%, that the average case 

consumed 153 minutes, that surgical procedures will continue to shift from 

inpatient to outpatient settings, and that the aging of the population will result in 

higher rates for most types of surgery. The following table summarizes the 

forecast; if volumes forecast for 2008 are achieved, the hospital will need 16 

operating rooms. 

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL SURGERY VOLUME FORECAST: 2002 AND 2008 

1996 2002 2008 

Inpatient 4,900 5,300 5,500 

Outpatient 3,100 9,200 9,900 

Total 8,000 14,500 15,400 

Ambulatory visit growth is forecast to be 18.5% between 1997 and 2008. Current 

visits, including primary and specialty clinics, urgent care, and emergency, 

number nearly 320,000. By 2008, total visits are forecast to approach 380,000. 

Achieving all of these forecasts assumes that University Hospital can: 

• Increase market share 

• Maintain a physician workforce of the right size and configuration 

• Continue to offer primary care throughout the metropolitan area 

• Increase referrals from outside Metro Denver 

• Compete for comparable services with area hospitals on a cost basis 

Cancer Center 

University Hospital is Colorado’s market share leader in inpatient hematology and 

oncology services. As the population ages, the number of cancer cases per 1,000 

population is expected to increase, providing a rich patient base for the cancer 

center programs. Based on University Hospital’s recent cancer center program 

experience, coupled with population growth and aging, the number of cancer 

cases should increase 49% between 1995 and 2008. The majority of services 

offered to these patients—chemotherapy, radiation therapy, physician visits—are 

provided on an outpatient basis. University Hospital has significant potential to 

serve patients more efficiently and achieve forecast growth more easily by 

bringing all of these services together in a single location. 

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Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute 

The Eye Institute has an excellent opportunity to build a unique program serving a 

population of nearly 7 million people by 2002. Presently, the ophthalmology 

practice is quite small, with 1% or less market share in both inpatient and 

outpatient surgery and a 1.37% market share in clinic visits. Inpatient surgery 

cases numbered 24 in 1997, outpatient cases totaled 484, and clinic visits were 

13,220. Efforts are underway in this highly competitive specialty to increase the 

number of faculty as quickly as possible to achieve the forecast volumes forecast. 

D. PROGRAM 

REQUIREMENTS— 

CURRENT AND 

PROJECTED 

The Total Learning Environment (TLE) 

“ Colorado is poised to become the premier learning university in the nation … 

The Total Learning Environment (TLE) is a concept that builds upon strong and 

relevant programs, activities, and philosophies already in place. It seeks to 

augment and enhance the best of our innovations in teaching, research, 

management and planning, asking at every juncture 'How do we enhance 

learning?' and 'How do we help students prepare for the future?’ “ 

John C. Buechner, President, University of Colorado 

The Total Learning Initiative was unveiled by President John Buechner during 

October 1996. The TLE initiative has four themes: supporting innovations in 

learning, including both undergraduate and graduate education; being more 

responsive to students and other constituents; using technology to improve 

teaching, learning, research, and management; and enhancing the University's 

human, capital, financial and organizational infrastructure. 

An initial information gathering process involving 2,500 - 3,000 people across the 

state included local business owners, community leaders, CU parents, alumni, 

donors, and the faculty, staff, administrators and students of CU was completed. 

Three major points were mentioned during this process: 1) CU can provide the 

skills necessary for a qualified workforce including: providing technical training, 

opportunities for lifelong learning, executive education, and distance learning; 

raising the standards for K-12; improving undergraduate and teacher education; 

and producing work-ready and life-ready graduates; 2)CU should be a leader in 

technology through developing new technologies, technology training, and access 

to technology; and 3) CU can conduct research or provide information on state 

issues - through the development of "think tanks" to research specific issues, the 

dissemination of existing information, and community access to CU's resources. 

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According to the TLE individual and group discussion, a Total Learning 

Environment should include everything believed to be good about or for 

education. All of the groups suggested that a Total Learning Environment include: 

• Cutting edge technology - developing new technologies, access to the 

University through technology, interactive courses, and training in 

technology for students, faculty, community 

• Partnerships with business, industry, and government 

• Focus on learning 

• Personalized attention and smaller classes 

• Being flexible enough to accommodate a variety of learners - 

nontraditional, traditional, lifelong learners, job retraining, etc. 

• Hands-on, experiential learning experiences 

• Internships, real-world learning experiences 

• Responsiveness 

• Graduates with good work skills - communication, interpersonal, teamwork, 

and ethics. 

During fiscal year 1997-98, approximately $932,000 in TLE program initiatives 

were funded at the UCHSC. These intitiatives included the following programs: 

1. Supporting innovations in learning, including both undergraduate and 

graduate education 

Organize And Conduct Interdisciplinary Student Team - $140,000 

Training In Rural Areas Throughout Colorado 

This allocation will assist in the recruitment of UCHSC faculty from each of the 

health professions disciplines to form interdisciplinary faculty teams which will 

coordinate the development and shared use of remote affiliated training sites, train 

clinical preceptor teams in these community settings, and recruit students from 

participating disciplines into interdisciplinary student teams who will be assigned 

to rural training sites as a cohesive unit. The purpose of this project is to promote 

a total learning environment on the HSC campus by bringing together students 

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across disciplines who will engage in shared learning experiences. It will promote 

and expand faculty interaction in curricula development, research and training 

efforts with students and community based preceptors. The interdisciplinary 

experience will focus on core competencies needed by health practitioners for the 

21st century: population based care, cultural competence, just-in-time learning, 

use of electronic databases, systems of care, team skills and interdisciplinary 

practice. 

2. Using technology to improve teaching, learning, research, and 

management 

Course Development For Teaching With Technology And Tele-education - 

$51,566 

This initiative will provide a resource in the School of Nursing for faculty who need 

assistance developing two-way interactive video (TWIV) and computer based 

coursework from course redesign and computer programming specialists, both 

within the University and from the community. This resource service will exist 

within the School of Nursing with attention to maintaining the integrity of the 

curriculum of the School of Nursing. The new resource will include consultation 

service in media development, distance education programs and computer skills 

within the framework of adult learning theory and in cooperation with the Health 

Sciences Center Office of Education. 

Physical Interaction With Data Through The Use Of Force Feedback Devices 

- $170,000 

These funds will help further the development of the Visible Human Project. More 

specifically, this allocation will provide support to further the development of haptic 

interaction with the human body to underpin the development of learning through 

simulation in the next century. This will include extending the tissues so that 

doctors can interact with, extending the haptic feedback from one handed 

operations to situations with instruments in both hands and development of 

remote training by coupling multiple haptic feedback devices in master/slave 

configurations. Of course, the overall goal is to test the effectiveness and guide 

future development of these simulations by students and faculty and facilitate their 

incorporation in the curriculum of the future. The HSC will pursue other resources 

to develop and meet evaluation goals during the course of this grant. With this 

effort in the research and development of these techniques and an early adoption 

in new student labs designed for this new teaching paradigm, the University of 

Colorado can remain on the forefront of virtual reality education in medicine. 

Multimedia Instructor Station For Dental Preclinical Simulation Laboratory - 

$210,000 

These funds will provide for the creation of a central multimedia instructor station 

to be placed in the main teaching laboratory of the School of Dentistry. The 

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development of this multimedia center would allow for a paradigm shift in the 

learning environment that dental and dental auxiliary students experience in 

mastering psychomotor skills. Additionally, this particular equipment would make 

possible the ability to tie the University of Colorado School of Dentistry site into a 

statewide telemedicine/teledentistry network. 

Distributed Education Program Support - $203,490 

These funds will increase of the level of support in both an FTE and a 

technological capacity for the Educational Support Services within the Office of 

Academic Affairs. Specifically these funds will: 

• Provide support for the addition a Classroom support person whose 

responsibility will be to meet workloads developed by the technological growth 

in the on-campus educational programs. 

• Add an additional staff member in the Engineering and Technical support area 

to help with the increased number of courses being delivered at a distance. 

• Provide support in making the transition of instructional materials from analog 

to digital. 

Modernizing Computer Assisted Instruction - $500,000 

These funds will provide assistance in the purchase of hardware, software and 

audiovisual software. As the new HSC Office of Education successfully 

encourages the faculty to embrace information technology and as students make 

growing use of e-mail and Internet access, funding of the library’s computer 

assisted instructional center becomes more critical. These funds will help 

purchase equipment now and on a continuing basis. This center is the only central 

microcomputer support facility on the HSC campus and is dedicated to serving the 

needs of over 2,300 students. 

4. Enhancing the University's human, capital, financial, and organizational 

infrastructure 

Master Planning Efforts For Fitzsimons And 9th & Colorado - $100,000 

These funds will assist in the development of two capital master planning efforts 

that are currently on-going at Health Sciences Center. First, as required as part of 

the CCHE approval of lease and renovation of Building 500, the HSC will be 

developing a master plan for the old Fitzsimons Army Base. The components of 

this master plan will include a space guideline analysis, an institutional plan and 

responses to specific questions generated from the CCHE and the Capital 

Development Committee. Secondly, this master planning effort will provide a 

redevelopment plan for the current campus located at Ninth and Colorado. 

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The initial vision, themes, and program concepts of the Total Learning 

Environment were incorporated into the campus 2020 vision formation program 

planning process of this master plan now presented. 

The 2020 Vision 

As part of the master plan process, seven campus core vision teams with 

representation from the entire institution were engaged to develop program vision 

statements for the year 2020. In addition to the overarching vision statement, 

program areas for which the 2020 vision statements were drafted included: 

education, research, clinical care, health network and affiliates, finance, 

information technology and logistics and support. These vision statements guided 

the development of the master plan. A detailed copy of the vision statements for 

all core teams is provided in Appendix ( ). 

Additionally, as part of the programming effort of the master plan, a program 

survey and focus interview process was utilized to identify current and future 

program and related space and facility requirements. A summary of the 

institutional vision and program requirements developed during the master plan 

process is presented below. 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center - The Vision 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center's (UCHSC) paramount and 

time-honored mission of education, research, patient care, and community service 

will continue into the next century. UCHSC is a unique regional public resource 

because it generates new knowledge and translates these discoveries to superior 

health education and human health. In all of its endeavors, UCHSC will achieve 

excellence and outstanding accomplishments, which will place the institution in 

the top tier of academic health centers. 

The UCHSC, in partnership with health network and affiliates, will be responsive 

to the community's health care needs by educating individuals as members of 

interdisciplinary professional health care teams, and by preparing tomorrow's 

leading health scientists. Physical proximity and integral working relationships 

among and between clinicians and scientists will foster new levels of collaboration 

and integration. Partnerships among faculty, students, staff, affiliates, and the 

community will foster the development of new knowledge, and this knowledge will 

be applied to the prevention and treatment of human disease and to the 

improvement of human health. The institution also will create partnerships among 

faculty, students, and consumers in offering the highest quality of health care, and 

providing access for citizens to the latest scientific findings concerning the 

promotion of health and the treatment of disease. 

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The UCHSC will serve as an umbrella organization for superior science in the 

region. In this capacity, UCHSC will provide the basic and applied health-related 

research technology and the intellectual capital to enhance the activities of other 

education, research, and industrial entities in the region. The integration of 

functions in academic and clinical endeavors, and in the physical facilities of 

UCHSC, will foster a sense of community for faculty, students, and staff and for 

patients. Those functions and facilities will create a supportive culture that 

promotes the highest technological advances as well as human caring throughout 

the continuum of science and health care. The UCHSC will collaborate with and 

provide services to a global community through the application of innovative 

technologies in all of its missions. 

Programs at UCHSC will evolve and be influenced by societal demands and the 

expectations embodied in changing demographics, competition, new financial 

opportunities and constraints, technology, and the continual application of rapidly 

expanding new knowledge. UCHSC will be successful because it adapts and 

maintains flexibility in a changing environment to accomplish its mission. 

Education 

In the year 2020, the essential and inseparable functions of the University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) will be: 

• education of health sciences students (practitioners and scientists) at the 

pre-professional, professional, graduate, and post-graduate levels 

• continuing education of health care professionals and health sciences 

investigators 

• public and consumer health education 

• delivery of health care 

• research in the health sciences at basic, transitional, and clinical levels 

With unified mission and purpose, the UCHSC will exist to improve the health 

status of individuals and populations. As an academic health sciences institution, 

scholarly activities, devoted to this aim, will include: 

• the scholarship of discovery (development of new knowledge in research 

• the scholarship of integration (synthesis of new and existing knowledge in 

dissemination and publication) 

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• the scholarship of application (application of knowledge in clinical and 

community service) 

• the scholarship of learning (transition of knowledge in professional, scientific 

and public education) 

Education Vision for 2020 

The vision for the educational enterprise of the UCHSC includes the following 

essential elements: 

A. The educational enterprise will be supported by a strong sense of community 

within the UCHSC, within the University of Colorado system, with affiliates, and 

with public constituencies 

B. The UCHSC will be responsive to health-related workforce needs in 

preparing health care professionals and health sciences investigators 

C. Using evolving information technologies and other learning methods, the 

UCHSC will be progressively stronger in community partnerships for the 

continuing education of health care professionals and health sciences 

investigators, and for public and consumer health education 

D. Reflective of the population, the faculty, staff and learners of the UCHSC will 

possess diverse cultural, learning, and experiential backgrounds and diverse 

interests, needs, and aspirations 

E. The UCHSC will use evolving educational technologies to enable diverse 

learners to take advantage of different learning modalities, with faculty serving as 

content experts, facilitators and mentors in the learning process 

F. The UCHSC will invest in ongoing faculty and staff development as an 

essential means to provide the best possible educational environments and 

experiences 

G. The UCHSC will provide interprofessional learning opportunities and offers 

disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary models of 

curricula in fulfilling its academic missions of scholarship 

H. Graduates of the UCHSC will be sought after by employers from multiple 

settings because they demonstrate professional competence in the knowledge, 

skills, and attitudes intrinsic to their field(s) of study and practice, as well as 

excellence in: 

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• working independently and in interprofessional teams; 

• mastering new knowledge through information management and life-long 

learning; 

• basing practice decisions on scientific evidence and evaluation research; 

• ensuring cost-effective care and using technology appropriately; 

• acting within the context of the patient and society; 

• making new contributions to the scholarly record; 

• participating in the education of the public and of future health care 

professionals and health sciences investigators 

• demonstrating the highest levels of public accountability, cultural cognizance 

and professional ethics 

The Rationale for the Vision--Education 

The educational enterprise will be supported by a strong sense of community 

within the UCHSC, within the University of Colorado System, with affiliates, and 

with public constituencies. 

Viability, strength, sustainability and growth in the educational enterprise will 

occur less in competitive environments, and more in cooperative environments. 

Building community aids in bridging gaps and fosters connectivity and 

networking capacities for shared and complementary purposes contributing to 

the educational enterprise. Building upon the shared strengths, assets and 

resources of organizational units, agencies and institutions in partnership, the 

UCHSC will function more efficiently and effectively. 

The UCHSC will be responsive to health related workforce needs in preparing 

health care professionals and health sciences investigators. 

The UCHSC must maintain and enhance an ongoing commitment to form and 

reform educational programs to respond to health workforce needs. 

Educational programs must be continuously responsive, dynamic, evaluationconscious 

and future-oriented. The UCHSC must be prepared to revise or 

eliminate programs, as well as develop new educational programs for the 

preparation of health sciences practitioners, educators and investigators. 

Using evolving information technologies and other learning methods, the UCHSC 

will be progressively stronger in community partnerships for the continuing 

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education of health care professionals and health sciences investigators, and for 

public and consumer health education. 

Using evolving information technologies (such as current notions of telehealth, 

telelearning and other distributed learning technologies) will continuously 

improve delivery, access and connectivity. 

By the year 2020, the term student will be an out-dated, 20th century concept. 

The UCHSC concept of learners and learning communities will expand 

significantly. The HSC will be progressively stronger in community 

partnerships to serve learning interests and needs in: 

• pre-professional career education: provision of learning opportunities in 

health sciences education for children and young adults for career 

development of future health scientists and health care professionals 

• professional and graduate education: provision of learning opportunities 

to prepare health care professionals and health sciences investigators 

• post-graduate education and continuing professional education: 

provision of advanced study learning opportunities for health care 


• consumer and public education: provision of learning opportunities for 

non-health professionals and the general public for the promotion of 

health and wellness and the prevention of illness and disease 

Reflective of the population, the faculty, staff and learners of the UCHSC will 

possess diverse cultural, learning, and experiential backgrounds and diverse 

interests, needs and aspirations. 

In 2020, the UCHSC community of diverse faculty, staff and learners will better 

reflect the general population. In continuous pursuit of a celebrative and rich 

community, differences and commonalties will be recognized and valued. 

The UCHSC will use evolving educational technologies to enable diverse learners 

to take advantage of different learning modalities, with faculty serving as 

information experts, facilitators and mentors in the learning process. 

In the information age, the concept of learning environments and learning 

modalities will continuously evolve. The use of educational technologies will 

better accommodate differences among learners, including real and virtual 

learning environments, demand and just-in-time learning opportunities, and 

increased access and time flexibility in distributed learning modalities. 

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Learner and faculty roles will evolve. Both will become equally proficient as 

navigators, analyzers and synthesizers in information management. Faculty will 

serve as information experts, as well as facilitators and mentors in the learning 

process. 

The UCHSC will invest in ongoing faculty and staff development as an essential 

means to provide the best possible educational environments and experiences. 

Given its commitment to life-long learning, the UCHSC will continuously invest 

in the personal and professional growth and development of faculty and staff. 

Use of diverse learning strategies and methodologies will serve the 

developmental needs of the UCHSC community. 

The UCHSC will provide interprofessional learning opportunities and offers 

disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary models of 

curricula in fulfilling its academic missions of scholarship. 

All roles and functions of interprofessional teams in health science, health care 

delivery and health professions education are evolving. Among 

interprofessional teams, there are: 

• shared roles (multiple functions performed by one person and single 

functions performed by multiple persons) 

• specialized roles (different functions performed by different people) 

• collaborative roles (different people working together to fulfill functions). 

Specialized curricula will prepare individuals and groups for specialized roles 

and functions (disciplinary curricula), while core curricula will prepare them for 

shared and collaborative roles and functions (multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary 

and transdisciplinary curricula). 

Preparing practitioners, scientists and educators to function in interprofessional 

teams will emphasize cost-effective role definition, using shared data, and an 

atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. These types of roles will pertain to 

faculty and learners. The scholarship of discovery, integration, application and 

learning will be pursued and performed independently and in interprofessional 

teams. 

Graduates of the UCHSC will be sought after by employers, from multiple settings, 

because they demonstrate professional competence in the knowledge, skills, and 

attitudes intrinsic to their field(s) of study and practice, as well as excellence in: 

• working independently and in interprofessional teams 

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• mastering new knowledge through information management and life-long 

learning 

• basing practice decisions on scientific evidence and evaluation research 

• ensuring cost-effective care and using technology appropriately 

• acting in partnership within the context of the patient and society 

• making new contributions to the scholarly record 

• participating in the education of the public and of future health care 


• demonstrating the highest levels of public accountability, cultural cognizance 

and professional ethics. 

Educational research will focus on the learning process (methods and materials) 

and the assessment and evaluation of specialized and generic learning outcomes. 

Discipline-specific proficiencies and generic abilities will drive curricula planning, 

development, management and evaluation activities. 

Current and Projected Enrollment 

A summary of current (1997-98) and five-year and ten-year projected (2003-04 

and 2008-09) annualized enrollments by program area is provided in the following 

table. As indicated, the current total annualized campus enrollment is 2,395 

students. Included in this total amount are 1,118 students currently enrolled in 

School of Medicine programs, 184 students enrolled in the School of Dentistry, 

683 students enrolled in the School of Nursing, and 410 students in School of 

Pharmacy programs. 

A total five-year student enrollment increase of 8% is projected for the year 2003- 

04. The total campus enrollment is projected to increase by total of 197 students 

from a total of 2,395 to 2,593. Total school enrollment projections during this fiveyear 

period indicate student enrollment increases of approximately 11% (125) for 

the School of Medicine, 10% (19) for the School of Dentistry, and 9% (63) for the 

School of Nursing. Due primarily to the transition to the Pharm.D. degree from the 

B.S. degree, a slight enrolment decrease of 2% (10) is projected for the School of 

Pharmacy during this five-year period. In addition to growth in the Pharm.D. 

degree program within the School of Pharmacy, other programs with significant 

enrollment increases projected during this 5-year period include the Child Health 

Associate program – M.S. (82%), Public Health – M.S. (57%), the Basic Sciences 

– M.S.(33%)/Ph.D.(+17%), and Nursing – M.S. (32%). 

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The total ten-year student enrollment increase of approximately 14% is projected 

for the year 2008-09. The total campus enrollment is projected to increase by 

total of 335 students from a current year (1997-98) total of 2,395 to 2,730 students 

in the year 2008-09. The school enrollment projections during this ten-year period 

indicate total annualized enrollment increases of approximately 14% (158) for the 

School of Medicine, 36% (66) for the School of Dentistry and 18% (120) for the 

School of Nursing. Enrollment for the School of Pharmacy is projected to remain 

relatively constant at a total of 401 students. 

In 1994, the University of Colorado engaged in an enrollment planning process. 

The Health Sciences Center participated in that effort and developed a 10-year 

plan which has been recently updated as part of the master plan. The projections 

represent the best estimates for future enrollments, while recognizing the volatile 

nature of the health care marketplace. In concert with that plan, the Health 

Sciences Center has the following enrollment goals. 

Enrollment Management Goals 

• Manage enrollment stability through a combination of quality, accountability 

and flexibility. To accommodate the predicted enrollment demand, the 

University must balance accountability demands with the flexibility to 

manage the institution within fiscal constraints. 

• Maintain responsiveness to the health care marketplace, which is affected 

primarily by changes in the delivery of health care, such as the shift towards 

managed care and more generalist health care providers. 

• Maintain high quality academic programs that prepare students for changes 

in the delivery of health care developments in market demand, and 

advances in health policy, ethics and science. 

• Apply new technological approaches to service delivery, increasing 

productivity, improving on/near campus instructional quality, and meeting 

market demands. 

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UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER 

Student Headcount Enrollment - 1997-98, 2003-04 and 2008-09 Years 

Summary Enrollment Data - Annualized 

Current 5-Tear % 10-Year % 

1997-98 2003-04 Increase 2008-09 Increase 

Total Total 5-Year Total 10-Year 

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE 

Medical Students 543 543 0% 543 0% 

Graduate Students 

Child Health Assoc (MS) 44 80 82% 80 82% 

Public Health (MSPH) 53 83 57% 95 79% 

Basic Sci (MS-BMSC/BIOM/MPHY) 21 28 33% 31 48% 

Basic Sci (PhD) 176 206 17% 216 23% 

Phys Therapy (MS) 125 125 0% 125 0% 

Genetic Assoc (MS) 17 16 -6% 16 -6% 

Special Students (MS) 111 122 10% 130 17% 

Total Graduate Students 547 660 21% 693 27% 

Undergraduate Students 

Child Health Assoc 28 40 43% 40 43% 

TOTAL School of Medicine 1,118 1,243 11% 1,276 14% 

SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY 

Dental Students 145 158 9% 200 38% 

Undergraduate Students 

Dental Hygiene 39 45 15% 50 28% 

TOTAL School of Dentistry 184 203 10% 250 36% 

SCHOOL OF NURSING 

Nursing Doctorate 119 116 -3% 123 3% 

Graduate 

Masters 254 335 32% 368 45% 

PhD 67 66 -1% 67 0% 

Special Students (MS) 32 45 41% 45 41% 

Total Graduate 353 446 26% 480 36% 

Undergraduate (BS 206 179 -13% 195 -5% 

Special Students (BS) 5 5 0% 5 0% 

TOTAL School of Nursing 683 746 9% 803 18% 

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY 

Pharm D 32 360 1025% 360 1025% 

Graduate Students 27 40 48% 41 52% 

Undergraduate Students 351 0 -100% 0 -100% 

TOTAL School of Pharmacy 410 400 -2% 401 -2% 

CAMPUS TOTAL 2,395 2,592 8% 2,730 14% 

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Research 

The research mission of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is to 

develop new knowledge which will be applied to the prevention and treatment of 

human disease and to the improvement of human health. To better serve the 

people of Colorado and the public good, research discoveries are the scientific 

basis for improved patient care. 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center research effort will be based 

on a strong faculty supported by an institutional leadership which values and 

advocates for research. Critically important is the on-going development of 

research programs and infrastructure. 

Research Vision for 2020 

As articulated by the 2020 Research Vision Team, the vision for the research 

enterprise of the UCHSC includes the following essential elements: 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will : 

• be larger, stronger, and better 

• be highly interdependent, collaborative, and multidisciplinary 

• develop and utilize new technologies 

• have even stronger federally funded grant support 

• have expanding partnerships with industry and biotechnology 

• have strong community involvement, support, and endowments 

The Rationale for the Vision--Research 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will be larger, stronger, and better. The 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is currently the largest and most 

successful health related research institution in the State of Colorado. The vision 

is that the UCHSC research enterprise should continue to grow and become a 

more nationally prominent research institution. 

At a time when there are pressures nationally to reduce the number of medical 

schools, Colorado has the potential to expand its excellent research base. To 

succeed in this goal, the UCHSC must plan strategically and have flexible 

operational processes. 

• First, the momentum of growth in research activity that has occurred over 

the past decade must be maintained and enhanced. Losses of key faculty 

or key programs are unacceptable. To accomplish this goal, the UCHSC 

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must expand and enhance its research infrastructure and program 

development. 

• Second, recruits to the faculty must consist of the most outstanding 

candidates available. Recruitment of superior research faculty in all areas 

is the foundation for creating the conceptual and technological advances 

necessary for rapid enhancement in both the basic and applied sciences. 

Attracting this caliber scientist to the campus will require substantial 

resources from all mechanisms including the State, the University Hospital 

and faculty, and philanthropic gifts and endowments. 

• Third, the UCHSC campus must continue to nurture all students who will 

become tomorrow's leading scientists. Learning will be more integrated at 

the scientific and clinical levels and will utilize more advanced technologies 

and communication systems. The training of future scientists will require 

current technologies such as molecular biology and genetics as well as 

developing tools of computational mathematics and medical informatics. 

• Fourth, the UCHSC must provide state-of-the-art and readily accessible 

research facilities for the faculty and students. Facilities should be built to 

promote collaboration and integration. Physical proximity is critical for 

these interactions. Plans which disrupt or destroy interdisciplinary 

collaboration will interfere with progress and are not acceptable. All 

research facility planning must have as a top priority enhancement of 

intellectual interactions, synergism of new and different technologies, and 

blending of our most precious resource . . . intellectually curious minds. A 

research campus; now or in 2020, which is separated or divided with 

islands of excellence will in aggregate only be good, never superior, and 

therefore not competitive. 

• Fifth, the UCHSC must include its affiliated institutions in its plans to 

strengthen programs and expand research opportunities. These affiliated 

institutions include but are not limited to the Denver Health and Hospitals, 

The National Jewish Medical and Research Center, the Veterans' 

Administration Medical Center, the Barbara Davis Institute for Childhood 

Diabetes, the Eleanor Roosevelt Cancer Institute, and the Webb Waring 

Institute. 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will be highly interdependent, collaborative, 

and interdisciplinary. The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is in an 

enviable position for broad translational initiatives. In the past 15 years, many 

interdisciplinary programs have been developed which have achieved national 

prominence. Questions of human biology and human disease are becoming more 

complex and require faculty from many disciplines to join together to solve 

problems. This is called scientific interdependency. Already, the programs in 

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molecular biology, neurosciences, and cancer research bring together specialists 

in all fields of biology and medicine. There are currently over 30 centers of 

excellence on the campus, bringing together groups of scientists and clinicians to 

focus on specific diseases such as diabetes, alcoholism, schizophrenia, and 

Parkinsonism, as well as more comprehensive problems like the genetic causes 

of cancer. Such collaborative efforts must be enhanced because a single 

investigator will be unable to competently use all approaches needed to move a 

research domain forward. Scientific interdependency and collaboration will 

increase substantially. Therefore, research faculty must not be fragmented but 

instead should be consolidated. 

The genetic revolution will discover about 100,000 new proteins in the coming 

decade. Uncovering the function of this huge number of molecules will be the 

challenge and opportunity of the next century. An increased emphasis on 

computational mathematics, informatics, and molecular structure analysis will be 

needed to understand these molecules. Furthermore, complex mathematical 

modeling of non-linear phenomena within the cell, the organism, and populations 

will be necessary. Success in these efforts will tell us the cause of many human 

diseases. Once the cause of disease is known, the chance of finding a cure is 

much improved. The process of discovery has turned from a steady trickle in the 

80's to a flood in the 90's. The deluge of opportunity will be upon the faculty by the 

year 2000. If the campus is prepared with adequate resources, the Health 

Sciences Center can sail gloriously. Unprepared, the UCHSC will drown in 

noncompetitive mediocrity. Making these interactions more effective in the future 

will require a flexible administrative structure enhancing relationships between and 

within schools, departments, divisions and centers. A campus administration 

dedicated and responsive to the needs of the faculty, staff, and students must be 

created and maintained. Wise planning must promote--and not disrupt--the 

interdependent environment that makes discoveries possible. 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will develop and utilize new technologies. 

Fundamental to the process of increasing the prominence of the research mission 

at UCHSC is the ability to develop, rapidly and flexibly, new technologies. The 

institution must empower its administrative structure to plan strategically and 

creatively. Faculty must have rapid and substantial input into these processes. 

Resources from grants, endowments, gifts, and indirect cost recoveries must be 

available to ensure timely operationalization. For example, the new techniques of 

multidimensional mathematical computation and molecular structural analysis 

must be developed swiftly on the UCHSC campus to enhance its competitive 

position. To achieve these new technologies, the institution needs to acquire new 

talented scientists, new facilities with different core capacities, and 

multidisciplinary teams. 

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The research enterprise at UCHSC will have even stronger federally funded grant 

support. The UCHSC has increased its federal grant support 12% per year over 

the past decade and has risen into the top 20 medical institutions for federal 

support. This achievement is admirable but not superior. The vision is that this 

source of support will expand; that UCHSC will utilize its geographic, political, 

social, and human intellectual resources to make a quantum jump in federally 

sponsored research programs. To ensure success in this vision, UCHSC must 

change its administrative structure. First, UCHSC must strengthen and 

institutionalize its research mission by establishing a Vice-Chancellor for 

Research Affairs with resources and authority to succeed. Second, UCHSC must 

evaluate alternative administrative structures similar to University Hospital or 

University Physicians, Inc. to provide rapid and flexible operationalization of 

strategic initiatives. Third, UCHSC must adopt an aggressive and proactive 

mentality to recruit and retain superior scientists. 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will have expanding partnerships with industry 

and biotechnology. A crucial component to our vision of research in the future is 

substantial interaction with and development of biotechnology and durable 

relationships with industry. Scientific advances on this campus and elsewhere are 

increasing at an exponential rate. Translation of these discoveries to the 

improvement of human health will require sophisticated and substantial resources 

with capacities and intellectual resources that differ from those in a biomedical 

research laboratory. Biotechnology transfer is the medium for this activity. UCHSC 

must have accessible and responsive biotechnology transfer capabilities. For this 

to occur, UCHSC must commit itself to the development of substantial 

partnerships with industry and biotechnology. The vision is that Colorado is 

advantageously positioned to develop these relationships. For UCHSC to 

succeed, the campus and research enterprise must consider alternative 

administrative structure for biotechnology transfer that simplifies the process of 

transferring scientific discoveries on this campus to the private sector. The goal 

will be to translate scientific discoveries to human biology and the development of 

substantial resources to be recycled into the process of discovery. 

The research enterprise at UCHSC will have strong community involvement, 

support, and endowments. Translation of basic scientific discoveries into 

applicable solutions for human disease will necessarily involve community 

outreach. Education of the public domain about the quality of research at UCHSC 

must become a priority. To succeed in this educational process, the linkage of 

science to human health and disease is essential. Great progress in the advocacy 

of UCHSC to the public has been made in the past 5 years. The vision is that the 

UCHSC research enterprise will commit itself to translating and linking science to 

health for the citizens of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region. In return, 

there will be increasing investment of the citizens, political structure, alumni and 

business communities into the UCHSC research endowment. To achieve this 

goal, the vision includes increased dedication to intramural, extramural and distant 

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learning for the broad lay community. In addition, community and alumni advisory 

boards should become an integral part of campus and program development. The 

UCHSC campus and the community must synergize to address creative programs 

in medical ethics and minority/diversity involvement. The vision is that the UCHSC 

research enterprise plans for an innovative transition from an isolated "island of 

excellence" to an "umbrella organization of superior science" serving with and for 

all its alliances and constituencies. 

The mission statement for the Health Sciences center states that health 

knowledge will be advanced through basic and applied research, and that high 

standards will be maintained regarding the use of animal and human subjects. 

Research and discovery are what make a major regional academic health science 

center such as the UCHSC unique. Basic research findings discovered in the 

laboratory are often translated into clinical trials. These trials lead researchers to 

new techniques and procedures that can be used directly to the benefit of 

patients. As earlier indicated, during the past 50 years, the UCHSC has emerged 

as a center for health-related research. In many fields, the UCHSC has earned a 

national and international reputation. 

Faculty research strength and expertise are requisite to strong academic 

programs. Today’s students will be competent professionals tomorrow only if their 

teachers are successfully expanding the knowledge base of the health care 

system. The UCHSC plays a crucial role in fostering basic and clinical research to 

create new knowledge as well as providing training opportunities for the next 

generation of Colorado’s health care providers, teachers and scientists. 

Sponsored project activity at the Health Sciences Center continues to grow. The 

UCHSC received more than $154 million in sponsored research grants and 

awards for the 1996-97 year. Faculty members participate in research on an 

individual basis, with colleagues, or in a variety of structured organizations that 

have specific missions and responsibilities. All campus research programs 

emphasize the involvement of students. This training is an important responsibility 

of the faculty in conducting research. 

As previously presented in the market analysis summary, the Health Sciences 

Center has experienced significant growth in research funding over the past eight 

years and has ample opportunity to continue that trend given the likelihood that 

NIH and industry will increase research funding. To achieve growth, however, 

requires that research activity, including participation in clinical trials, be expanded 

aggressively. Critical to the Health Sciences Center’s ability to expand its 

research presence and, thus, enhance its rank among academic medical centers, 

is the need to: increase research space, develop and expand programs in such 

areas as genetics, neurosciences, and cancer; and pursue funding from private 

sources (industry). 

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Clinical Care 

The clinical mission of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center is: to 

provide the highest quality health care for the citizens of Colorado and the region; 

to serve disenfranchised patients as resources permit; to provide a learning 

environment for the students of the schools of the Health Sciences Center; to 

provide adequate patient volumes to support the clinical mission; and to serve as 

the focal point for translation of scientific discovery into clinical practice. 

By 2020, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Clinical enterprise will 

be governed by a consolidated team of expert faculty and health care 

administrators. Primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care in addition to 

wellness, prevention, and long-term care programs will be established. The 

Clinical Enterprise will create an environment that fosters a sense of community 

both for its faculty, students and staff and for its patients, resulting in a caring and 

nurturing culture that supports the highest technological advances as well as 

human caring advances throughout the continuum of care. 

Clinical Care Vision for 2020 

As articulated by the 2020 Clinical Care Vision Team, the vision for the clinical 

care enterprise of the UCHSC includes the following essential elements: 

The clinical care enterprise at UCHSC will: 

• develop a robust patient base to insure the success of the education and 

clinical research missions of the Health Sciences Center 

• be a unique regional / national resource for translation of scientific discovery 

into clinical practice 

• encompass a full range of primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, 

preventive, long-term and assisted care required for the populations it serves 

• be committed to providing care to the medically indigent to the extent 

resources allow 

• be a competitive force in the marketplace 

• be provided by an interdependent multi-professional team 

• be patient and family centered 

• provide the highest quality of care to insure that it remains one of the top tier 

academic medical centers in the United States. 

The Rationale for the Vision—Clinical Care 

Full-time faculty will be the practicing providers of care. The clinical enterprise will 

improve its clinical services continually to insure that we remain a strong and 

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competitive Health Sciences Center. The clinical enterprise will thoughtfully and 

carefully distribute resources in order to be successful in the competitive 

environment. The Clinical enterprise will strive to balance the need for specialists 

and generalists to insure a balance that enables the UCHSC to remain in the top 

tier of the medical centers providing the most sophisticated care. The clinical 

enterprise will take a leadership role in defining guidelines for practice and 

measuring outcomes. Decisions will be evidence based. The clinical enterprise 

will allow flexibility for professionals to move between clinical and academic roles 

while assuring that the clinical mission and its success is sustained. 

The clinical enterprise will be a unique focal point for actualizing concepts and 

scientific discoveries aimed at better understanding disease, improving patient 

care and enhancing prevention of illness. Most full-time faculty clinicians will 

concentrate their activities in the clinical, clinical research and education spheres. 

The enhanced excellence that clinicians and researchers can achieve because of 

their areas of concentration, coupled with a goal of integration, and their physical 

proximity will facilitate transfer of newly acquired information and concepts and 

subsequent actualization of these ideas by clinical investigation. This 

amalgamation of discovery and application is the characteristic which defines an 

academic medical center and clinical enterprise, distinguishes the UCHSC from a 

community based "teaching” hospital, and attracts patients with diseases whose 

cures have yet to be found. 

Clinical Care. The clinical enterprise will provide a full range of service to the 

populations served. This will include prevention, wellness, maintenance of health, 

primary care, secondary care, tertiary and quaternary care, subacute care, 

assisted living care, long-term care, and home care. The tertiary and quaternary 

care component will be focused at the Health Sciences Center campus. Other 

components of care may be provided in more than one distinct site. Provision of 

all levels of care will be influenced by the patients' preferences and needs. The 

integrated professional team will deliver care and organize care with the patient as 

the central focus. There will be different models of practice such as hospitalists for 

inpatient acute care, ambulatory care practitioners, assisted living practitioners, 

home care practitioners. The populations served by the Health Sciences Center 

clinical enterprise will consist of defined populations, patients in a network of 

providers with whom the UCHSC partners for specialty care, patients referred 

through networks, the disenfranchised population, and the veterans and military 

populations. There will be a greater number of older, more frail and chronically ill 

patients. Patients in this clinical enterprise will be attracted from Colorado and 

from regional, national, and international groups. Patients may be more affluent 

and technologically savvy. People will access the clinical enterprise system on a 

personal level and on an electronic level. The integrated professional team 

members may go to the patients. These teams will be operating on a horizontal 

level and will take full ownership of the plan of care. 

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Community Service. The clinical enterprise will support the clinical needs of the 

providers of the State of Colorado by sharing their clinical expertise via teleeducation, 

telehealth and telemedicine. The HSC will continue to provide care to 

the medially indigent as resources allow. 

Financial Solvency and Stability. The clinical enterprise will be cost effective and 

efficient while providing high quality, personal and highly technical care. The 

clinical enterprise will evaluate functional areas and redistribute resources in order 

to compete successfully in the marketplace. Sources of patients will come from 

governmental supported populations, business purchasers, unions, and individual 

indemnity payers. The UCHSC will develop its own HMO or become part of an 

integrated care delivery system. The clinical enterprise will consider merging 

and/or developing partnerships with other providers and be partners in other 

networks. Members of the clinical enterprise will take a proactive role in bringing 

patients into the system. This may include developing and managing transport 

systems and developing mobile healthcare teams. There may be true financial 

mergers and not partnerships in the future. The UCHSC must generate a strong 

capital base in order to have state-of-the-art facilities and the therapeutic 

equipment needed to be a provider of tertiary and quaternary care. The clinical 

enterprise will be flexible and decide on a case by case basis its make/buy 

decisions relative to the services that it provides. The UCHSC will pursue regional, 

national, and international patient bases. 

Integrated Professional Team. Care will be provided by an integrated professional 

team consisting of physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, 

pharmacists, dentists, nutritionists, social workers, physical therapists, etc. These 

team members will cooperate to optimize communication and patient needs. 

There will be hospitalists, ambulatory care practitioners, and case managers. 

Primary care practitioners will provide a significant counseling role for patients and 

families. The organization of the clinical enterprise will consist of these teams 

centered around patient needs. The team leader will not necessarily be a 

physician. Patients and families will have greater say in their care. The clinical 

enterprise will support the training of various professional groups in order to 

provide care in differing environments. 

Patient-Centered Care. The clinical enterprise will structure the delivery system 

based more on the needs of the patient than the provider. The goal will be service 

that is caring, comfortable, accessible, flexible, and calm. To accommodate these 

goals, the clinical enterprise will have a completely integrated and confidential 

electronic medical record with integrated billing and a clinical database. There will 

be electronic order entry and retrieval and immediate access to information. The 

patient will come on line with the providers, enjoying the benefits of electronic 

patient education, electronic communication with the provider and telemedicine 

and telehealth that can be brought into the home. The care delivery system 

throughout the continuum of care will be a seamless system to the consumer. The 

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electronic medical record will allow the ability to track incidence of disease and 

make predictions and provide data for ongoing clinical research and projects of 

disease risk as well as financial risk. The HSC will have the ability to interact 

electronically with other medical centers and within our network. Patients will not 

lose their autonomy upon admission to the system. Accessibility for patients 

includes a safe neighborhood community with efficient public transportation. The 

UCHSC will have a culture that fosters trust among the members of the clinical 

enterprise and Health Sciences Center and trust between the members of the 

Health Sciences Center and the community we serve. The clinical enterprise will 

support the development of a community environment that supports the delivery of 

healthcare in a warm, open, calm environment that does not have an institutional 

image. The clinical enterprise sees its staff and faculty as its most valued assets. 

The Center for Advanced Medicine 

Since the early 1990's there has been an ever increasing demand for space by 

University Hospital (UH) to deliver ambulatory care. With the shift of care from the 

impatient to the out patient setting, and the growth in clinical programs at the 

Health Sciences Center the number of out patient visits has grown from just under 

200,000 in 1990 to over 300,000 today. To meet this demand the University 

Hospital has done several things. This includes acquiring the old Rocky Mountain 

Osteopathic Hospital (University East Pavilion), renovation of existing clinic space 

on the first and second floors of the west wing of UH, relocating several 

ambulatory care functions closer to the impatient units, and expanding and 

moving clinics off of the 9 th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. site. The latter include sports 

medicine, general internal medicine, and primary care clinics in Boulder, Aurora, 

Fitzsimons, and Littleton. 

Although all of these efforts have helped in meeting the demand for clinical space, 

and some have improved patient access, they have also created problems. The 

East Pavilion is very inefficient because it is an inpatient facility used for out 

patient care. The UH clinic space has never been adequate even after renovation, 

and patients fight the access and parking problems associated with the campus. 

Ambulatory care is spread out in several locations without regard to the issues of 

proximity and carries all of the inherent cost of duplication. Most importantly, is the 

fact that in all these settings, ambulatory care continues to be subordinated to the 

inpatient mind set. What the growth has done is create more of the same "old" 

kind of ambulatory care. UH is still fundamentally delivering ambulatory care today 

as it did in the 1980s. 

Many academic health sciences centers have faced these same issues over the 

last several years with a variety of solution and success. Recently, some have 

taken a major step forward in the concept of providing ambulatory care. This new 

approach has created an ambulatory complex that is distinct and separate 

physically, organizationally, and functionally from the inpatient hospital. All 

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aspects of these new centers are focused on the satisfied patient experience. This 

includes a distinct building designed specifically for ambulatory care, easy access 

and parking, all services needed to support the care provided, and bringing 

together all specialties so that the patient has true "one stop shopping". In the 

academic setting these centers have usually concentrated the specialty care, and 

some primary care in one building and left the bulk of the primary care 

geographically dispersed. 

Such centers allow the university hospitals to capitalize on their strongest market 

advantages, that is their specialty care. The very nature of these highly efficient 

venues of care makes for superb teaching. With most of these efforts, there has 

been very strong growth in market share and clinical activity. 

One of the best examples of this new concept is the Center for Advanced 

Medicine at the University of Chicago. This unique facility houses all of the 

specialty care of the hospital and faculty and is operated distinctly separate from 

the inpatient facility. 

Until recently the prospect of creating such a concept and facility at UH was 

almost impossible. This because of the constraints of the current site. With the 

acquisition of the Fitzsimons campus such a concept is not only possible but 

probable. 

A Center for Advanced Medicine at the University of-Colorado Hospital is a bold 

move to create a true market leading ambulatory care facility and concept. It will 

become the anchor tenant at the new Fitzsimons campus, and will allow the 

University to grow our programs and volumes in such a way as to secure our 

future. 

Support 

In order for the logistics and support services to contribute successfully to the 

broad mission of the academic health center, a set of core values should serve as 

the guiding principles for organization and delivery of services. Those core values 

identified by the 2020 Logistics and Support Vision Team include: 

• Service programs and physical facilities are critical to a "sense of 

community" that encourages creativity, cooperation, and productivity 

• Responsiveness to the needs of all constituents 

• Flexibility in operations to meet the needs of the variety of programs 

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• Adaptability to adjust to the changing environment, including health care 

changes, demographics, and technology 

• Capitalizing on the most valuable resource--human resources--and creating 

an environment that encourages innovation, creativity, and risk taking 

• Holding employees accountable for their actions and success of their 

programs 

• Delegating responsibility and authority to the lowest level possible without 

compromising protection of assets and effective program management 

• Embracing change as a constant, and preparing our employees and the 

organization(s) to effectively deal with change 

• Expecting financial responsibility, which is critical to the success of the 

academic health center. 

Support and Logistics Vision for 2020 

Logistics and Support Services provide the infrastructure that enables the 

achievement of excellence in patient care, teaching, research, and community 

service. The services must be accountable, effective, and efficient in order to 

provide the best possible services to internal and external customers. Innovation 

and flexibility will be key considerations in developing and implementing services 

for the future. 

The Rationale for the Vision—Support and Logistics 

The most valuable resources available to the institutions are informed employees, 

students, patients, and community supporters; the institutions must focus on 

creating an environment that benefits from the talents of its human resources. 

• A service-oriented culture will be maintained for all aspects of the logistics 

and support services. This entails a regular review of services and a 

willingness to take advantage of new technology and management 

approaches. A system of services must be provided to meet varying levels 

of customer needs with uniformly high standards of excellence. 

• The skills and talents of employees providing support and logistic services 

will need to evolve with changes in technology and innovations in the 

marketplace. As entrepreneurs enter the marketplace with new products 

and services, the center’s support units will be challenged to match and 

compete with the private sector in terms of products offered, quality, 

service, and price. 

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• Greater emphasis will need to be placed on training the workforce that 

supports the core missions of the enterprise. The skills and knowledge 

needed to provide support to the community served will expand as changes 

in the academic environment manifest in day to day operations. 

• All services will be provided in a manner that maximizes revenue and 

avoids unnecessary costs. 

• All services share in the responsibility to protect the physical and intellectual 

assets of the institutions. 

• Changes in health care will continue to accelerate. The institutions must 

meet the challenge of providing service excellence while supporting 

community identity, stability, and culture during times of rapid change 

through constant attention to change management and program reengineering. 

• The academic health center must be receptive to identifying and 

establishing new programs to meet the changing needs of its constituents. 

Some examples of service programs that may be needed in the future are: 

• Housing for students, visitors, and patients/families. 

• Conference facilities with support services and amenities. 

• Day care for students and employees. 

• Transportation services for students, employees, and patients and families. 

• Efficiencies should be achieved through options such as consolidation of 

services and outsourcing whenever they will result in improved customer 

service and are economically beneficial. These solutions should cross 

institutional boundaries whenever possible. 

• As clinical, research, and educational programs assume a more 

entrepreneurial character, the State of Colorado and the academic health 

center must ensure flexible approaches to its administrative policies, rules 

and regulations; as the federal government continues to delegate more 

programs to the state, the academic health center should assume a 

leadership role in ensuring that external agencies support its objectives. 

Technology 

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The UCHSC is committed to using advanced, integrated technologies as the 

primary enabling mechanism for multi-level integration of its programs. This 

integration will involve all programs on the campus, will create bridges to key 

partners in various locations, will foster trans-disciplinary teams of health care 

professionals, and will transform the ways in which learning and work occur. 

Information Technology Vision for 2020 

In the year 2020, technology functions as the most important enabling tool for 

most aspects of education, research, clinical care and campus administration. 

The expanding use of new technology restructures how people work and 

learn. Students function in a self-directed manner with faculty as facilitators 

rather than traditional lecturers. Clinicians seamlessly generate and use data, 

interacting with enormous clinical data repositories with integrated decision 

support. The development of large clinical databases, and new technologies 

for filtering, sorting, and data mining facilitate the integration of patient care, 

teaching, and clinical and epidemiological resources. These resources also 

allow rapid adjustment of business practices. Basic science researchers 

distribute and retrieve results quickly. Clinical researchers depend on large 

databases, universal taxonomy, and they interact immediately with data they 

generate. 

All information resources are integrated and within the reach of individuals 

who need them. “Smart agents,” representing the next development in 

artificial intelligence, will integrate technological functions by performing 

continuous searches and analyzing, evaluating, synthesizing and presenting 

data. Learning, collaboration, communication, completion of job duties and 

other tasks occur when and where convenient for the individuals involved. 

This is accomplished by functional systems that are highly intuitive. Students, 

faculty, staff, and administrators come to the institution with more readiness to 

continually adapt to new technology. However, intense competition for the 

most adept individuals remains a strategic challenge for the institution. 

Technology supports all types of collaboration, learning, and patient care 

among groups of people who are physically remote from each other via 

sophisticated and interactive video, robotics, wireless systems, and through 

systems that are more “intelligent.” The institution’s ability to acquire and 

apply new technology directly impacts the competitive success of its 

programs, and may impact the survivability of the institution. Investments in 

technology compete with physical (capital) and human resource investments 

in the allocation of institutional resources. A continuously updated strategic 

plan that anticipates significant and targeted investment in technology is 

critical. 

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Technology standards have evolved to overcome basic aspects of 

interconnectivity, security, and confidentiality, but the continual emergence of 

new technologies requires on-going standards development. The ability to 

maintain connectivity, data transfer, and access to campus systems by 

individuals and small organizations is as important as connectivity with large 

affiliated entities. An effective and broad reaching strategic planning process 

is on-going and is supported by institutional leadership that has a vision and 

unified commitment to the role of technology in the academic health center of 

2020. This planning process focuses on the application of emerging 

technologies as solutions to meeting the needs of the campus programs. 

The Rationale for the Vision—Information Technology 

• The successful implementation of new technologies will depend on the 

ability to solve problems associated with the “human factor.” In other 

words, integrating technology in a manner that individuals will learn how 

to use and apply new tools will be critical. 

• Individual skills relating to the wise use, interaction, and “filtering” of 

information available through technology will be required at more 

sophisticated levels than ever before. This will be accomplished 

through informatics curricula, research, and programs. Informatics will 

serve as the bridge between technology and professional activities. 

• The rate at which new technology is implemented will continue to 

depend upon dynamics related to individual abilities to adopt and adapt 

to new technology. For example, early adopters will continue to lead the 

implementation curve, however, the time it takes for the rest of the 

UCHSC population to adjust may occur within a shorter timeframe than 

currently experienced within the institution. The unknown impact on the 

“adoption curve” of increasing and accelerating change in technologies 

will present major challenges to the institution. 

• The evolution of technology and its implementation in both the broader 

world and at the UCHSC will result in greater decentralization of 

information and decision-making within the institution. 

• Decision support systems will be a primary tool used by health care 

practitioners and patients alike. 

• Faculty inventions will increasingly be technology-based, which will 

require unique infrastructure support and development. 

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• The economics of electronic information will be vastly different than 

today in ways we cannot foresee. 

• “Smart Agents” will be the primary vehicle for UCHSC users to have 

information identified, organized, evaluated, and presented in an 

integrated manner. 

• HSC faculty will have three roles as they interact with increasingly 

sophisticated and expanding knowledge data bases. As educators they 

are aggregators and re-sellers of information; as researchers they are 

developers of information; and as clinicians they are consumers/users 

of information. 

• The way in which faculty work will focus increasingly on their ability to 

use technology resources. New economic models for education, 

research, and patient care will emerge from this dynamic. 

• UCHSC will serve as a hub to provide information technology services 

to its clinical and educational enterprise, which may be global. 

• The role of academic health centers will be to determine the extent to 

which available technology is applied to health care. Issues of ethics 

and rules built into decision support systems will be important. The goal 

will be to balance the possibilities of available technology with ethics 

and good business practices. 

• “Actuarial health care” will be a reality. Technological advances and 

reforms in payment structures will foster an increased reliance on 

actuarially based decisions for the provision of health care. Electronic 

data bases will also support improved quality of care through better 

documentation. 

• The University will be both an importer and an exporter of technologybased 

courses and programs. 

• Distributed health care and health education will be the norm in 2020. 

This will be enabled by the penetration of interactive systems in the 

home. By 2020, the UCHSC will have developed and implemented a 

cost-effective strategy to leverage this new global infrastructure to fulfill 

its missions. 

• Students will no longer learn through traditional methods. Technologybased 

education programs will be tailored to learning styles, needs, and 

the convenience of the individual. Educational technology will result in 

radical changes in the roles and responsibilities of faculty and students. 

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Program Development Summary 

As part of the market and program analysis of this master plan, specific program 

expansion and development requirements were identified. Specific program 

requirements for the next 5-year (1998 – 2003) period include: 

Education. During the past 5-year period, enrollment at the Health Sciences 

Center has remained stable with an average number of students of approximately 

2,400-2,500. 

A total institutional student enrollment increase of 8% is projected for the period of 

1998 – 2003. The current annualized student enrollment of 2,395 is projected to 

increase to 2,592. Included in this increase is an 11% projected increase for 

programs in the School of Medicine, a 10% increase for the School of Dentistry, 

and a 9% increase for the School of Nursing. The 5-year enrollment projection for 

the School of Pharmacy indicates a slight decrease of 2% from 410 to 400. 

The campus projects stable headcount enrollment in the near future for several of 

the educational programs at the Health Sciences Center, including Medical, 

Physical Therapy, Nursing Doctorate. 

Programs projecting significant growth during the next 5-year period include: Child 

Health Associate – M.S. (82%)/Undergraduate (43%), Public Health M.S. (57%); 

Basic Sciences – M.S. (33%) / Ph.D. (17%), Dental Hygiene (15%), Nursing – 

M.S. (32%) and Pharmacy Doctorate. 

Child Health Associate Program 

The program will increase incrementally in class size beginning in 1997- 

98 and continue until doubling the class size by the year 2001-02. 

Ph.D. Programs 

The first class of students matriculated into the new Human Medical 

Genetics track in Biophysics and Genetics Degree program in the fall of 

1997. 

The first class of students matriculated in fall 1997 into the new Ph.D. in 

the Clinical Sciences degree program. 

A pilot unified Ph.D. program has been implemented by Graduate School 

faculty. This program will admit an incoming class of 6-8 students, who 

will enter the school in fall 1998 as special students and select a degree 

program in their second year. The number of students for this program 

will not augment the total current enrollment projections for basic science 

Ph.D. programs. Rather, the program’s intent is to replace a percentage 

II-96



of students matriculating directly into Ph.D. programs with students who 

engage in a year of studies before choosing their degree program. 


The program in analyzing options for the addition of an advanced 

Physical Therapy degree program with the expectation of making a 

recommendation and proposal to the campus and University with the 

goal of submitting a concept paper to CCHE within a year. 

Masters in Public Health 

The MSPH program goal is for moderate growth under the tuition 

differential plan and to double its enrollment by the year 2004-05. 

Doctor of Dental Surgery 

Based upon new space availability at the Fitzsimons site, the current 

class size is projected to increase by 9% during the next 5-year period. 


The enrollment plan for the School of Nursing is being reviewed. 

Flexible options and an innovative curriculum should result in slight 

increases in the graduate programs 

The enrollment in the baccalaureate and the Doctor of Nursing (ND) 

programs will stabilize at current levels. This in response to the current 

market demand for Registered Nurses as well as reallocation to the 

graduate level programming. 

Nursing Masters 

The School of Nursing is to review the number of specialty track options 

available in the master’s program. Meanwhile, the enrollment in this 

program is lower than projected, which is a national trend in nursing 

education. Master’s enrollments fluctuate significantly in the school’s 

outreach program as the number of off-campus sites change over time in 

response to local needs. The school anticipates enrollment increases, 

particularly in out-of-state students. 

Nursing Ph.D. 

The school of Nursing is to decrease the student faculty ratio and total 

enrollment in the Ph.D. program. The summer option for admission into 

the program will end after summer 1997, however use of intensive 

models will allow the program to slowly grow. The Ph.D. program was 

part of the overall Graduate School review of Ph.D. programs. 

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Research 


The goal is for the school of Pharmacy to transition from its current three 

degree professional programs: 1) a three-year baccalaureate program; 

2) a two year post-baccalaureate Pharm.D. Program; and 3) a track-in 

option to the post-baccalaureate program; to a single four year entry 

level Pharm.D. program. The transition plan received approval from the 

Board of Regents in November 1997 and approval by the Colorado 

Commission on Higher Education is anticipated in February 1998. 

Pharmacy Baccalaureate 

The original plan called for reductions of approximately 15% annually in 

the baccalaureate degree program. That plan is being implemented. 

Pharm.D. Track-In Option 

The original plan called for implementation of the Pharm.D. track-in 

option in 1997, with an enrollment of approximately 30 students. The 

plan was implemented at an accelerated pace in response to heavy 

market demand. Sixty students were admitted to the program and began 

classes in fall 1997. 

Pharm.D. Post-Baccalaureate 

The current, post-baccalaureate, Pharm.D. Degree Program will be 

phased out as stated above. A post-baccalaureate Pharm.D. program is 

offered in a non-traditional format that allows practicing pharmacists to 

remain fully employed while fulfilling the degree’s requirements. 

Current research program expansion is envisioned for all program and center 

areas. Significant growth areas noted during the market and program analysis 

include molecular biology, genetics, neurosciences and cancer. The research 

enterprise will continue to evolve toward highly interdependent, collaborative and 

interdisciplinary approaches. Other areas for expansion during the projected 

period of 1998-2003 include clinical trials expansion related to University Hospital 

facility development and expanding partnerships with industry and biotechnology. 

Clinical Care 

The UCHSC clinical enterprise will continue to provide a full range of service to 

the populations served. This will include prevention, wellness, maintenance of 

health, primary care, secondary care, tertiary and quaternary care, subacute care, 

assisted living, long-term care, and home care. The tertiary and quaternary care 

component will be focused at the Health Sciences Center campus. Other 

components of care may be provided in more than one distinct site. 

II-98



As earlier described, The Center for Advanced Medicine at the University of- 

Colorado Hospital will make a bold move to create a true market leading 

ambulatory care facility and concept. It will become the anchor tenant at the new 

Fitzsimons campus, and will allow the University Hospital to successfully expand 

programs and volumes. 

The Future Environment at Fitzsimons 

Due to physical site constraints, UCHSC programs cannot sufficiently expand nor 

new programs of critical importance to the mission of the institution be developed 

at the present campus location. The opportunity to acquire and develop a new 

campus has become available at the site of the former Fitzsimons Army Medical 

Center in Aurora, Colorado, six miles from the present UCHSC campus. This site 

represents many advantages for future growth, both immediate and in the years to 

come. The plan for reuse of Fitzsimons affords a satellite campus initially and the 

opportunity for a complete relocation of all of the HSC during a long-term period, 

given adequate approvals and funding. 

Competent UCHSC faculty have built successful health professional educational 

programs for Colorado citizens, provided health care for both private patients and 

the medically indigent, and made significant research discoveries benefiting all of 

mankind. The current facilities house almost 11,000 people, employ more than 

7,700 staff and faculty, and generate $671,000,000. However, the highly 

successful academic health center located at 9 th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. in 

Denver has outgrown its existing space and has begun to bulge into neighboring 

areas. 

Based on the recognition of limited growth potential within these constraints and 

acknowledgment of the concerns of the neighbors and the City of Denver, during 

the last several years, the HSC leadership has sought a satellite campus site. 

Program surveys of faculty and staff revealed long-term growth needs that would 

double the current 2.4-million square feet of facility space to approximately 5 

million square feet. 

The Fitzsimons site is viewed by many as well suited to the future of the HSC for 

the following reasons: 

1. The HSC acreage increases from 46 to 217 acres, more than enough to 

accommodate the expressed program space needs of faculty and staff. It also 

makes possible both a second, or satellite, campus in the near future and the 

possibility for complete relocation in the distant future. 

2. The acreage is available by public conveyance to the State of Colorado and 

the CU Regents at no cost. Market value of the 217 acres and existing 

facilities has been judged to be in the range of $100,000,000. 

II-99



3. Site location - the site is immediately adjacent to I-225, very close to I-70 and 

the Denver International Airport, Fitzsimons is approximately six miles from 

the present HSC campus. 

4. The location of the adjacent 150-acre research park. 

5. The availability of Building 500, the Army Hospital, with slightly less than 

500,000 square feet for occupancy two years prior to actual conveyance, 

which provides the HSC with needed space to relocate personnel on the 

present campus and to consolidate some administrative services and to allow 

for expansion of some programs at the 9 th Avenue campus. 

What has emerged from the program planning is a consensus that the institution 

needs to expand from its present site, but that certain integrated functions must 

remain on site until they can be moved en masse, when and if that is fiscally and 

practically feasible in the future. 

This master plan accomplishes both of these purposes. The plan provides a vision 

for the development of an immediate satellite campus and holds out the 

opportunity and expectation for entire relocation. The contingencies are that 

funding can be accomplished during the long-term period and that regental, 

Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and legislative approvals be 

granted. 

An overview of the scenario option for campus transition is presented in the 

following section. 

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Related Materials 

II-101



possible by the transfer of 217 acres that comprise over half of the Fitzsimons 

Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado to the University of Colorado. This 

location, just six miles east of the existing campus, enables phased transition of 

programs with minimal disruption. The relocation to Fitzsimons is creating great 

excitement locally and nationally, because it combines the opportunity to develop 

both a model for military base closure and a new model for health professions’ 

education, scholarly work, and community service. This unique and challenging 

project began to emerge almost four years ago, after several years of 

investigating alternative solutions to accommodating the UCHSC and UH success 

and projected growth. 

In the early 1990s, it had become clear that the 46 acres on which the UCHSC 

and UH campus is sited would no longer support the existing programs or 

anticipated growth in education, research, patient care, and administrative 

programs. The Chancellor initiated discussions with the Denver Mayor’s Office, 

the Denver Planning Office, and those neighborhood associations that represent 

residents who live in areas contiguous to the campus. These discussions 

centered around the physical space needs of the UCHSC and UH and the options 

for expansion through a series of property acquisitions. The discussions also 

included options for the development of University-owned, undeveloped property 

west of Colorado Boulevard. 

After several years of failed negotiations, the political and resident groups 

determined that the quality of life in the areas contiguous to the UCHSC and UH 

would suffer from any expansion, thus effectively land-locking the existing 

campus. A search began for other long-term solutions to accommodate program 

growth and enhancement. These options included redevelopment opportunities in 

the lower downtown Denver area, the old Stapleton Airport property, open parcels 

of land in contiguous counties, and the Lowry Air Force Base, which was being 

closed. Each of these options involved great expense to purchase land and each 

was ultimately determined to be financially unfeasible for the University. In 1994, 

however, the federal government announced plans to close the Fitzsimons Army 

Garrison. Subsequently, the UCHSC was approached by the City of Aurora to 

initiate discussions regarding the relocation of the UCHSC and UH campus to the 

Fitzsimons site. 

The discussions with the City of Aurora proved fruitful, since any land conveyance 

to the University of Colorado would be without a direct cost for the property. In 

1995, a proposed reuse request for a public benefit conveyance of 186 acres to 

the University was submitted to the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority. The 

application for a public benefit transfer was approved by the US Department of 

Education in September, 1997. The UCHSC proposal was complemented by an 

economic development conveyance request by the City of Aurora, through its 

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority, for the remaining 147 acres at the site. Of 

I-2



this acreage, 31 acres are to be transferred to the UCHSC at a later date and the 

remainder of this conveyance will be used to develop a bioscience research park. 

The UCHSC’s request for the Fitzsimons property is supported by the University 

President’s Office, the Board of Regents, the Colorado General Assembly, and 

the Colorado Congressional Delegation. The 217 acres, valued at over $100 

million, and approximately $10 million of equipment and furnishings will transfer 

without cost to the UCHSC. 

The current UCHSC and UH programs are housed in facilities that have a 

combined total of 2.4 million gross square feet. A faculty survey of program needs 

and plans indicate that over the next decade, an almost 100 percent increase in 

space will be needed. These projections are supported by the growth of the 

campus over the last ten years. Campus expenditures, including the total campus 

economy of UH, UCHSC, and University Physicians, Inc. have grown 300% in the 

last decade to $700 million. Research and training income from sponsored 

program support has grown from $50 million to $155 million during this period. 

New research space is urgently needed to house current and expanding 

programs. Administrative space shortages are forcing UCHSC and UH support 

programs off of the campus to remote sites. Space for education programs and 

activities is inadequate to support changes in curricula and teaching, and space 

for amenities and quality of life programs is almost non-existent. The space and 

facility shortages at the current campus have impacted the competitive position 

and the quality of all of the campus’ programs. The Fitzsimons site provides 

UCHSC and UH opportunity to plan for future growth and to accomplish 

immediate relocation for selected programs. 

Opportunity 

The acquisition of 217 acres at the Fitzsimons site presents opportunities beyond 

those associated with relieving the stress of expansion at the 9th Avenue campus. 

Aside from a handful of buildings on the Fitzsimons site, most of the structures are 

inadequate, unsafe, inaccessible, inefficient, and poorly maintained. The need to 

clear the Fitzsimons site of these structures creates a “blank slate” upon which to 

build the academic health center of the future. No other institution in the country 

currently has this opportunity. 

The vision of the new campus includes spaces that will enable new ways in which 

faculty, students, and staff will conduct their duties in the 21st century. In the new 

Total Learning Environment at Fitzsimons, education space will be more 

integrated with clinical and research space and will reflect the way in which 

teaching and learning are changing to learner-centered approaches. Research 

space will integrate clinical and basic science research to encourage a more 

effective flow of new discoveries to their application for the benefit of the patient 

and the community at large. Clinical space will reflect the reorganization of health 

I-3



care as a result of new treatments and approaches to diseases, the new 

demographics of patient populations, the emphasis on wellness and preventive 

care, the increase in the types of clinical sites, the need for facilities to support 

clinical trials, and other anticipated changes. 

The current physical barriers that exist between the health sciences schools can 

be overcome in new facilities that promote interdisciplinary work and health care 

teams. The new campus can incorporate infrastructure and space that promote 

the integration of new technology in all aspects of clinical, education, research, 

and administrative work. Amenities and support services will be configured to 

promote a high quality of life, effective communications, applications of advanced 

technologies, and a sense of community. Proximity to the new bioscience 

research park and regional industry provides access and opportunities for 

public/private partnership and entrepreneurial development. 

This unique opportunity and the compelling vision of the academic health center of 

the future has made this project a model at the national level for base closures 

across the country. The Fitzsimons endeavor is not simply an economic 

development effort on the part of a local community, but one that will also benefit 

the entire nation. 

Fitzsimons Site Location 

to Boulder 

Denver 

International 

Airport 

270 

Vasquez Blvd. 

70 

70 

70 

Colorado Blvd. 

Monaco Pkwy. 

Quebec St. 

Stapleton 

Peoria St. 

225 

City 

Park 

Montview Blvd. 

Fitzsimons 

Colfax Ave. 

Akron 

Colfax Ave. 

N 

14th Ave. 

8th Ave 

UCHSC 

Potomac St. 

W 

E 

6th Ave 

Lowry 

6th Ave 

6th Ave 

Peoria St. 

S 

Monaco Pkwy. 

Havanah Ave. 

225 

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Fitzsimons Reuse Plan 

Comparison of Existing Campus Area to Proposed Area 

PEORIA ST. 

UCHSC/UH/UPI Requested Public 

Benefit Conveyance Area - 

Total: 218 Acres 

WEST HARLOW AVE. 

Existing UCHSC Campus - 

9th Ave. and Colorado Blvd. 

Total: 46 Acres 

520 

PEORIA ST. 

404 

403 

405 503 

502 

602 

601 

Fitzsimons Army Medical Center 

Total Site: 588 Acres 

CHARLI E KELLY BLVD. 

EAST GATE 

702 

701 

720 

724 

800 

801 

714 

722 

PEORIA ST. 

POTOMAC ST. 

E COLFAX AVE. 

E COLFAX AVE. 

Planning Challenge 

In order to position the UCHSC and UH to take full advantage of the Fitzsimons 

initiative, the institutions embarked upon a highly participatory, year-long joint 

master plan process to: 

• Define the vision of the academic health center of the future. 

• Define the projected program requirements for the education, research, 

clinical, and support programs. 

• Develop a transition plan to migrate from the 9 th Avenue campus to 

Fitzsimons. 

• Develop a physical master plan that embodies the vision for the new 

Fitzsimons campus. 

• Develop a financial plan that supports and enables the successful 

relocation to Fitzsimons. 

• Develop options for the redevelopment of the 9 th Avenue campus. 

I-5



Master Plan Development 

Summary of Key Work Plan Milestones 

Programming 

• Vision 

• Market 

• Program Requirements 

• Affinities 

• Program Framework 

Principles 

Transition 

• Program 

• Physical 

• Transition 

Framework 

Principles 

Fitzsimons Physical Master Plan 

• Preliminary Site 

Development Options 

• Framework Principles 

• Physical Master Plan 

• Design Guidelines 

Financial Plan 

• Final Financial Plan 

9th Ave. & 

Colo. Blvd. 

Redevelopment 

Options 

• Final 

Redevelopment 

Options Report 

Vision 

In June 1997, the Chancellor appointed a 2020 Committee to develop a vision for 

the campus--UCHSC and UH--in the year 2020. This Committee was co-chaired 

by a Regent of the University and a member of the University Hospital Board of 

Directors. The Committee appointed 7 Vision Teams to create statements 

regarding education, research, clinical care, health network and affiliates, 

information technology, finance, and logistics and support systems. More than 

150 UCHSC and UH faculty and staff were appointed to these seven teams. 

The 2020 Committee used the seven team vision statements as the basis for 

drafting an overarching vision statement for the campus, which appears below: 

I-6



MASTER PLANNING COMMITTEE 

2020 VISION 

RESEARCH 

TEAM 

EDUCATION 

TEAM 

CLINICAL 

PROGRAMS 

TEAM 

INFORMATION 

TECHNOLOGY 

TEAM 

FINANCE 

TEAM 

LOGISTICS & 

SUPPORT TEAM 

HEALTH 

NETWORKS & 

AFFILIATES 

TEAM 

UCHSC Overarching Vision Statement 

The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center's (UCHSC) paramount and 

time-honored mission of education, research, patient care, and community service 

will continue into the next century. UCHSC is a unique regional public resource 

because it generates new knowledge and translates these discoveries to superior 

health education and human health. In all of its endeavors, UCHSC will achieve 

excellence and outstanding accomplishments, which will place the institution in 

the top tier of academic health centers. 

The UCHSC, in partnership with health network and affiliates, will be responsive 

to the community's health care needs by educating individuals as members of 

interdisciplinary professional health care teams, and by preparing tomorrow's 

leading health scientists. Physical proximity and integral working relationships 

among and between clinicians and scientists will foster new levels of collaboration 

and integration. Partnerships among faculty, students, staff, affiliates, and the 

community will foster the development of new knowledge, and this knowledge will 

be applied to the prevention and treatment of human disease and to the 

improvement of human health. The institution also will create partnerships among 

faculty, students, and consumers in offering the highest quality of health care, and 

providing access for citizens to the latest scientific findings concerning the 

promotion of health and the treatment of disease. 

I-7



The UCHSC will serve as an umbrella organization for superior science in the 

region. In this capacity, UCHSC will provide the basic and applied health-related 

research technology and the intellectual capital to enhance the activities of other 

education, research, and industrial entities in the region. The integration of 

functions in academic and clinical endeavors, and in the physical facilities of 

UCHSC, will foster a sense of community for faculty, students, and staff and for 

patients. Those functions and facilities will create a supportive culture that 

promotes the highest technological advances as well as human caring throughout 

the continuum of science and health care. The UCHSC will collaborate with and 

provide services to a global community through the application of innovative 

technologies in all of its missions. 

Programs at UCHSC will evolve and be influenced by societal demands and the 

expectations embodied in changing demographics, competition, new financial 

opportunities and constraints, technology, and the continual application of rapidly 

expanding new knowledge. UCHSC will be successful because it adapts and 

maintains flexibility in a changing environment to accomplish its mission. 

At the completion of the vision process, the 8 statements were disseminated for 

comment to the campus community via the campus web page on the Internet. 

These statements have been considered drafts throughout the entire planning 

process and will be periodically updated to reflect changes and refinements in the 

vision. Within the vision statements are key recurring themes which are 

considered touchstones or key concepts and themes for the master plan: 

• UCHSC/UH will rank among the top 10 academic health center in the 

country 

• Programs will have a regional, national, and international scope 

• Programs will be integrated, interdisciplinary, and interprofessional in 

nature 

• New technologies will be employed to enable all programs 

• Programs will be more competitive 

• Services and programs will be more customer-friendly 

• New partnerships will be created 

• The organizations will experience ongoing change and will be flexible 

Today, the vision statements are embraced as the articulation of collective goals 

and aspirations. 

I-8



Master Plan 

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER & UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL 

MASTER PLAN ORGANIZATION 

U.H. 

Board of 

Directors 

U.C. 

Board of 

Regents 

Joint Board 

Committee 

• physical master plan 

Fitzsimons 

Development 

Subommittee 

• long-term options 

9th Avenue 

Redevelopment 

Subcommittee 


Executive Committee/ 

Team Chairs 

Support Teams on: 

IT, Health Network Affil., 

Logistics & Support 

• revenue/expenditure 

and cash flow analysis/ 

final transition scenario 

Finance 

Subcommittee 

Core Teams 

Education Research Clinical Programs 

Core Teams 

• vision/mission 

• 5 year program and space requirements - education, research, clinical 

• long-term program and space requirements 

• transition scenarios 

• review of financial plan, physical master plan (Fitzsimons) and 9th 

Ave. redevelopment options 

The planning process was reorganized to accommodate the transition from the 

vision process to the master plan process. The master plan process organization 

is depicted in the figure above. It is important to note that both the UCHSC and 

UH engaged in joint planning, overseen by the two governing boards of the 

institutions. These boards appointed a joint planning committee, comprised of 

four Regents and two UH Board members, who monitored the progress of the 

entire effort. 

The 2020 Committee transitioned to become the Executive Master Plan 

Committee. The Executive Vice Chancellor served as the chair of the group and 

was responsible for the management of the planning process. The Committee 

and the entire process were supported by an administrative working group 

comprised of staff from the two institutions and a capable and experienced group 

of professional consultants. 

I-9



The Education, Research, and Clinical Core Teams were created from 

membership of the vision teams. The purpose was to restructure the process to 

provide a greater focus on faculty roles and participation in the process. As a 

result, the three core teams became the central and most influential component of 

the planning process. At least three faculty co-chairs were identified for of these 

teams, who in turn were invited to all meetings of the Master Plan Executive 

Committee. The process required all planning components to be reviewed by 

these groups. 

The Fitzsimons Development Subcommittee reviewed the elements of design as 

they evolved for the new campus. This group provided an opportunity to include 

representatives from the Aurora City Council, Aurora Planning Office, and 

Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority in the planning for the new campus and to 

discuss issues regarding redevelopment of the boundary area. 

The 9th Avenue Redevelopment Committee is working to define options for the 

reuse of the current campus and will issue an interim report to the Board of 

Regents in December 1998. Neighborhood groups, other CU campuses, and the 

Denver Mayor’s Office are examples of external stakeholders on this group. 

The Finance Committee was responsible for developing a plan to support the 

costs of the transition scenario, maintenance of the base of the institutions, and 

new program development. Principles and assumptions regarding both resources 

and requirements provided a framework for the final comprehensive analysis. 

A context for planning was established by the UCHSC Chancellor early in the 

process. Assumptions were articulated to focus the planning process, including: 

• The present UCHSC site will not accommodate the campus space 

requirements in the near and distant future. 

• The goal is to develop a complete campus at Fitzsimons. 

• UCHSC will have two campuses during the transition to Fitzsimons. It is 

essential that both campuses be functional during the transition and the 

quality of the programs and facilities of the 9th Ave. campus will not be 

compromised. 

• The transition to the Fitzsimons site will create some inconvenience and 

disruptions for the UCHSC community, but every effort will be made to 

minimize these occurrences. 

• Educational and research space remodeling will be done on the current 

campus. 

• Planning for the clinical ambulatory center and a new research building will 

occur in conjunction with the master plan process. 

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• The master planning process will be conducted with the participation of 

faculty, staff, and students. 

• The Master Planning process will focus on detailed identification of 

programs, inter-relationships of programs, campus structure, siting and 

layout, and facilities. 

Resources 

The financial plan component of the master plan provides a realistic projection of 

resources and requirements to support the first twelve years of the transition to 

the new Fitzsimons campus. The University of Colorado has initiated a major 

fund raising campaign, a substantial portion of which will focus on program and 

facility development at Fitzsimons site. A State legislative initiative to create a 

Trust Fund for the development of Fitzsimons over the next ten years was 

successful. An aggressive federal funding strategy is being pursued by UCHSC 

faculty, the Chancellor, and the President of the University. UCHSC enjoys the 

financial position of having relatively small amounts of current debt, and debt 

capacities are projected to be adequate to support the development of critical 

components of the campus. Market indicators for UH clinical programs are 

positive and the competitiveness of these programs are expected to improve as 

they are reorganized on the new campus. The comprehensive financial plan 

provides a positive margin at the end of 12 years, which will enable some flexibility 

during the implementation of the transition to the new campus. 

The Future 

The primary strength of the Fitzsimons initiative is that the UCHSC and UH will 

have an opportunity to grow and expand beyond the limits imposed by the current 

location. The transfer, at no cost, of property that is valued at over $100 million is 

a compelling impetus for the campus. Furthermore, the location of the Fitzsimons 

site in the eastern metro corridor is the fastest growing area of the Denver Metro 

complex. It is close to the new Denver International Airport and industrial, 

manufacturing and office development sites that will add vitality to the area, and 

make it a regional commercial hub. 

Future planning will be challenged by the need to continually adjust and 

accommodate to realities through the transition period. Projects and programs 

may be funded in an order that is not anticipated or desired by the plan. It may 

prove to be difficult to amass financial resources for large projects. Changes in 

federal, state, or other policies, or in technology, could radically change the plans 

after they are developed. 

Finally, the largest challenge will be to maintain the quality of existing programs on 

the campus and ensure that no program is materially hindered by the transition. 

This will take the full cooperation, trust, and flexibility of all parties. 

I-11



SECTION III 

CONVEYANCE AND ACQUISITION OF 

FITZSIMONS PROPERTY 

“Would it not be well to secure sufficient lands… on which to erect at some future day a 

medical college? … I could give many reasons why we should have a medical college 

here … “ 

McClelland, W.F., President of the Colorado Territorial Medical Society, 1873 

It has been apparent for the last several years that the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences (UCHSC) would require additional facilities to support its programmatic 

needs and programmatic expansion. Alternatives that were reviewed to meet needs 

included 1) constructing new buildings and remodeling existing buildings at the 9 th 

Avenue and Colorado Boulevard campus; 2) leasing additional property and buildings 

at a variety of off-campus sites; and 3) acquiring additional large tracts of property. 

These alternatives were thoroughly reviewed and implemented in various ways over 

the time period. 

It was determined that problems and major obstacles existed with each of the 

alternatives. There existed a two-fold problem with constructing new facilities at the 

existing campus-first, the campus is landlocked with few remaining building sites and 

second there was significant neighborhood opposition to building on these sites. 

The major obstacle to the second option was that there were no single large buildings 

or property available to lease and this created an environment of multiple leases of 

small space at many sites. Although there are numerous leases for space off campus 

and a high volume of space remodels at 9 th Avenue, the only feasible alternative meet 

the programmatic and physical needs of the UCHSC was to acquire a large amount of 

space in a single tract as close as possible to the current campus. 

To accomplish this, the UCHSC reviewed the possibility of acquiring space at the 

former Lowry Air Force Base, at the former Stapleton Airport, lower downtown Denver, 

in Lakewood and at other sites. None of these proved to be feasible. Late in 1995, 

the Army announced it would close the US Army Medical Garrison at Fitzsimons in 

Aurora, Colorado. The reuse of property for the UCHSC was actively pursued by the 

City of Aurora and the University of Colorado. The opportunity presented included the 

acquisition of a large tract of property and associated buildings and personal property 

at no cost. This alternative provided the space to expand the facilities needed to 

support the mission of the UCHSC. 

III-1



Property Acquisition Background. In the summer of 1996, the UCHSC commissioned 

a study of the Fitzsimons site to ensure it was feasible to move some or all of the 

programs to the area. The Plan for Acquisition and Development of Fitzsimons was 

completed in October 1996 and approved by the Board of Regents in November, 

1996. This plan concluded that it was feasible to move the UCHSC to the site. As a 

result, the UCHSC initiated the process to acquire the property as quickly as possible 

under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process of the Department of 

Defense and the Army. Several actions were taken to implement this process. 

It should be noted that under the BRAC process, a redevelopment body or entity must 

be established for the purpose of transitioning and developing the former military 

property into a new use. The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) was formed 

early in the process. The Fitzsimons site consists of approximately 550 acres and the 

UCHSC is requesting approximately 217 acres of this. The remainder of the property 

will be conveyed to the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) which is the legal 

redevelopment entity for the total site and will develop all the non–University owned 

property. The UCHSC has worked actively with the FRA to prepare coordinated 

development plans to ensure the consistency of development of each entities parcels 

and the total site. 

In May 1997, the UCHSC leased approximately 300,000 square feet in the 

Administrative Building – Fitzsimons (AF-B), formerly the main hospital building, and is 

currently in the final phases of the initial remodel of the facility to accommodate the 

UCHSC, University Hospital (UH) and other groups assigned space in the building. 

This lease and initial remodel of the building is detailed in the “Revision to the 

Program Plan for the Administration Building.” This building contains approximately 

450,000 square feet. In late April, 1998, in a supplement to this original lease, the 

Army released another 130,000 square feet of space in the building to UCHSC. In 

June, 1998, the UCHSC submitted to the Colorado Commission on Higher Education 

(CCHE) the “Program Plan for the Remodel of the Administrative Building – 

Fitzsimons, Phase II and Other Buildings.” This program plan details the use of this 

new space in the building and establishes the remodel budget. The remaining 20,000 

square feet of space in the AB-F is assigned to the FRA and will be released to the 

UCHSC in 2001 when the FRA vacates the building. The above mentioned program 

plan will be amended at that time for this space. 

In June 1997, UCHSC requested additional property for the site of the new Cancer 

Center/Urology Program Building. This property is adjacent to the AF - B and contains 

10 acres of land and 5 buildings. The UCHSC submitted to CCHE the “Lease 

Letter/Program Plan” for this area on November 10, 1997. These areas were 

released to the UCHSC in April, 1998 in the supplemental agreement to the original 

lease mentioned above. See Table 1. 

On August 12,1997, the UCHSC submitted an “Application for Public Benefit Transfer 

of Surplus Federal Real Property for Educational Purposes to the United States” 

III-2



Department of Education (DOE) for 186 acres of property and the buildings located on 

the property including the Administrative Building – Fitzsimons. Again, the UCHSC is 

requesting the property at no cost for the United States government. In order to 

receive the property at no cost, the University must apply for it under a Public Benefit 

Conveyance (PBC) from the federal government. As a public higher education facility, 

the University can apply for this surplus federal property if the purpose is to further its 

educational mission for the good and welfare of the citizens of Colorado. The 

application for the property must be through a sponsoring federal agency that is the 

Department of Education for the UCHSC. On September 29, 1997, the DOE 

approved the application and conveyance of the 186 acres was scheduled for Fiscal 

Year (FY) 2002-2003. 

In September 1997, the Army informed the UCHSC that based on military closing 

procedures, it has the authority to convey property early to the new owner if the 

following criteria are met: 1) the Army is no longer utilizing the property and has 

vacated the areas; and, 2) the property is officially clear of environmental hazards. 

Based upon this criteria, 88 acres of property were made available for early 

conveyance to UCHSC. UCHSC submitted to CCHE the “Conveyance 

Letter/Program Plan” for this parcel on March 3, 1998. The Board of Regents 

approved this conveyance of property and the deeds at their April 23, 1998, meeting. 

The CCHE approved the conveyance of the property at their May 7, 1998, meeting. 

See Table 1. 

As UCHSC develops this property with the remodel of existing facilities and the 

construction of new buildings, facilities program plans for each building will be created 

and submitted to CCHE for approval. Facilities currently being planned include the 

Cancer Center/Urology Program Building; the Native American and Alaska Native 

Programs, Studies in Public Psychiatry, and TeleHealth/Education Building; and, 

System-Wide Library Access Building. Facility Program Plans for each of these have 

been approved by the Regents and submitted to CCHE. Reuse of existing buildings in 

this property is detailed in the “Program Plan for the Remodel of the Administrative 

Building – Fitzsimons, Phase II and Other Buildings.” This program plan has also 

been approved by the Regents and submitted to CCHE. 

Infrastructure and utilities are critical to the development of the above mentioned 

properties as well as to future leases and acquisitions. The approach is to utilize as 

much current, existing infrastructure as possible and integrate it with new utilities. 

Infrastructure and utilities are a key “underpinning” to the total development. The 

initial phase of the infrastructure work will begin soon. This work is detailed in the 

“Program Plan for Fitzsimons Infrastructure Development – Phase I” that was 

approved by the Regents, CCHE and funded by the legislature for July 1, 1998. It is 

anticipated there will be 6-8 phases of infrastructure development. 

Real Estate Instruments Property Acquisition. There are four types of real estate 

instruments for the University to acquire the property. These will convert to actual 

III-3



ownership of property by deed in 2003. The real estate instruments utilized have 

been a interim lease of property, a supplement(s) to the interim lease, conveyance of 

property by title and a Lease in Furtherance of Public Benefit Conveyance (LIFPBC). 

The interim lease and the supplements are long-term for 17 years with provisions and 

terms to change or modify the property to meet the programmatic needs. The intent is 

to lease the property and the lease contains no terms for ownership. The lease 

provisions do assure “payback” for the development investment. The interim previous 

lease and supplements at Fitzsimons have been among the UCHSC, the City of 

Aurora and the FRA. These lease and supplements are expected to convert to 

conveyance of property by title approximately January 1, 2003. UCHSC will then own 

the property outright at this point. 

Conveyance of property by title is the process by which UCHSC has received 

ownership of land, buildings and personal property by transfer of title. This occurred in 

May 1998 when the Army transferred the property to the DoE which in turn conveyed 

ownership to the UCHSC. Deeds have been signed and recorded and ownership is 

now under the UCHSC. Ownership provides the sound basis for the major financial 

investments into the development of the new campus. 

A Lease in Furtherance of Public Benefit Conveyance (LIFPBC) is the instrument that 

will used for the next acquisition and all future acquisitions. It is an instrument that 

although it is lease, it provides many of the advantages of ownership. The major 

difference between the lease instrument and a LIFPBC is that there is a written intent 

by the United States to convey the property by title to the leaseholder at a future date. 

In this case, the LIFPBC is expected to convert to conveyance of property by title 

approximately January 1, 2003. UCHSC will then own the property outright at this 

point. The LIFPBC, like ownership, provides the sound basis for the major financial 

investments into the development of the new campus. The parties in the LIFC will be 

the Army and the UCHSC. The City of Aurora and the FRA are not included in the 

agreement. 

In May 1998, the Army requested that UCHSC assume responsibility for additional 

property at Fitzsimons. The Army wished to establish an achievable real property 

transfer and lease plan that was within its guidelines and objectives and which 

minimized its caretaker costs and maximized support for those who will use the 

Fitzsimons property. 

In short, the Army has taken this approach and the UCHSC has agreed because : 

• It reduces the cost and burden of processing “piecemeal” leases. 

• It accelerates the pace of reuse opportunities for reusers by placing property in 

their hands quickly. 

• It decreases Army operating costs. 

III-4



• It recognizes the fact and integrates into the property release process that the 

Army cannot convey the property by title because portions are still being utilized 

and other parcels are no environmentally clear. 

The UCHSC supported this strategy. It was apparent that the Army and UCHSC did 

not have the resources to proceed with the complex and large number of activities it 

requires to convey the property by title. This coupled with the fact that the some of the 

areas are still under use by the Army and have not been vacated. Others areas have 

not yet been environmentally cleared and may not be for another 24 to 36 months. In 

addition, a lease requires nearly as much activity and due diligence as conveyance 

and the lease and supplements are interim and must be replaced by more permanent 

instruments. The LIFPBC provides the opportunity to conserve resources for all 

parties yet provide property for redevelopment. 

This LIFPBC is anticipated to be signed in October 1998. It should be noted that the 

buildings in the parcel will not all be transferred at this time. This is necessary 

because some of these remain in use by the Army or their environmental issues have 

not been resolved. The whole parcel and buildings will be leased in October and by 

agreement they will all not be released to the UCHSC until the usage and 

environmental issues are completed. As a result, the property and buildings will be 

transferred under the LIFPBC incrementally from October 1998 through June 1999. 

The UCHSC will not be responsible for operating costs until the buildings are actually 

transferred 

Future Acquisition Steps. The LIFPBC for the property is expected to be signed in 

November 1998. As mentioned previously, although the lease will commit both the 

Army and the UCHSC to the transfer of the 70 acres and 50 buildings, the actual 

responsibility for these will occur incrementally from October 1998 through June 1999. 

This is because the Army is still utilizing some of the buildings and there are certain 

areas in some buildings to be environmentally cleared. By July 1, 1999, all areas will 

be transferred to the UCHSC. 

A second LIFPBC is planned for November 1999. This will include any remaining 

parcels within the UCHSC requested conveyance. Terms of this agreement will be 

similar to the first LIFPBC. There are approximately 18 acres of land and 15 buildings. 

With the transfer of these on that date, the UCHSC will have all 186 acres of property 

requested in the original Public Benefit Conveyance (PBC) under lease, LIFPBC or 

conveyed by title. 

By January 1, 2003, the lease and supplements to it, the LIFPBCs will convert to 

conveyance of property by title and UCHSC will have title to the 186 acres. 

III-5



SUMMARY OF ACQUISITION ACTIONS AND SITE PLANS 

Date 

Document 

December 1996 Approval of the “Plan for Acquisition and Development of 

Fitzsimons” 

May 1997 

Lease for space in the administrative building, Fitzsimons 

September 1997 Approval of the Application to the U.S. Department of 

Education for a Public Benefit Conveyance (PBC) 

April 1998 

A supplemental agreement to the first lease providing an 

additional 5 buildings and 10 acres of land 

May 1998 Approval of the early conveyance of property by title of 7 

buildings and 88 acres of land 

October 1998 through Army requested a “lease in furtherance of conveyance” 

June1999 

(LIFC) of 50 buildings and 70 acres of land 

November 1999 A second LIFC for the remainder of the property to be 

conveyed for 15 buildings and 18 acres of land 

January 2003 

The public benefit conveyance or conveyance of property 

by title of all leased and LIFC property for a total of 78 

buildings and 186 acres of land 

January 2008 

The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) transfers 

to the UCHSC 30 buildings and 31 acres of land 

Total 

109 buildings and 217 acres of land 

III-6



SECTION IV 

TRANSITION 

“We need to communicate/create a vision for the University community so that we 

can make each interaction with all faculty/staff/students/administrators a learning 

experience.” 

Total Learning Environment Focus Group, 1997 

A. GOALS AND 

PRINCIPLES 

The purpose of this transition plan is to provide a framework for the logical phasing of 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital programs 

from the 9th Avenue campus to the new Fitzsimons site. Many scenarios were 

investigated and analyzed in the master plan process, however, the single scenario 

that is presented in this chapter most closely meets the policy criteria established by 

the Board of Regents in August, 1998. These criteria include: 

• Transition core activities to Fitzsimons in the shortest time possible (e.g., a 

“front-loaded” scenario); all new buildings will be at Fitzsimons; 

• Balances realistic estimates of cost and achievable resources; 

• Preserves the core principles from the vision development process; 

• Protects program support to the maximum extent possible; 

• Integrates and maximizes the use of University, State, Federal and private 

sector resources; 

• Provides realistic staging including the transitional use of the current campus; 

• Maximizes enterprise development options; 

• Minimizes program disruption or degradation from a student, patient and 

services perspective; 

• Expedites acquisition of research space; 

• Preserves future development options for affiliates; and 

• Preserves the physical integrity of the existing buildings and infrastructure at 

the current 9 th Avenue campus to facilitate its reuse. 

IV-1



B. TRANSITION PLAN 

• The ultimate development of the Fitzsimons campus will involve the 

construction and renovation of over eight million gross square feet of 

education, research, clinical, administrative, and support space. There are 

three elements to this plan, as follows: 

• Five million gross square feet (gsf) of renovation and construction to 

accommodate the needs of the Health Sciences Center and University 

Hospital. The long-term plan for this space will reflect generally the space 

requirements as determined by the education, research, and clinical leaders of 

the institutions and as indicated through responses to surveys and interviews 

during the spring and summer of 1998. The comprehensive results of this 

planning effort are reported in Section IV. In terms of space need, however, 

this process served to identify a total need of 4.7 million gsf. 

• One million gsf of construction of additional facilities to house HSC and UH 

programs that have been discussed as components of a long-term vision for 

the Fitzsimons campus, but which are not included in the program projections 

as part of this plan. Facilities in this category might include a transitional care 

facility; temporary patient and family housing; additional campus amenities for 

patients, students, faculty, and staff; employee related family services; and 

facilities to house new programs developed in partnership with other CU 

campuses. 

• Two million gsf of construction for at least two major affiliates to relocate in 

whole or in part. 

• Transition planning has focused on the first component – the eventual 

development of space and facilities at Fitzsimons to accommodate the longterm 

projected need of UCHSC and UH programs as identified by faculty, 

academic administrators, and UH administrators over the last year. 

Overview 

The single transition scenario that is described in this section of the master plan 

accomplishes the relocation of major components of the UCHSC and UH over a 

period of twelve years, including: 

• The entire relocation of the education programs of the 5 health sciences 

schools 

• The entire relocation of the clinical programs of the UCHSC and UH 

IV-2



• The relocation of approximately one-half of UCHSC research programs, and 

allowing for 100% growth in these programs over 12 years 

• There are many factors that were considered in developing a single, 

financially viable transition plan, all of which are consistent with the broad 

principles established by the Board of Regents. 

Time Frame. The planning time frame chosen for the scenario was 12 years. The 

transition schedule, actually displays a 14-year time frame in order to capture the 

previous year as a base year (FY 1997-98) and to show an additional year at the 

end of the planning period (FY 2010-11). Therefore, the 12-year plan includes the 

years FY 1998-99 through FY 2009-10. The twelve year time frame was chosen 

because it is the shortest possible span of time within which costs can still be 

reasonably spread to result in financial viability of the plan. 

Use of Both Campuses. It is assumed that the UCHSC and UH will continue to use 

the facilities at the existing campus through the entire transition time frame, and that 

all research facilities on the campus will house UCHSC programs beyond the first 

12 years. Therefore, the programmatic needs of the two institutions can be met by 

combining the resources of the two sites during and after the first 12 years. At the 

end of 12 years, there will be approximately 3.5 million gsf of new and renovated 

space at Fitzsimons. At that time, approximately 750,000 gsf of research space at 

the 9 th Avenue campus will still be used. In order to complete the relocation of the 

entire campus after the first 12 years, an additional 1.5 million gsf will need to be 

constructed. 

Flow of Funds. The cost model developed by Chi Systems provides annual inflated 

costs for all construction, planning, and design activities. This model combined with 

the Ernst and Young financial model, which provides annual revenue projections, 

produces projections of annual cash flow compared to anticipated costs. Using 

these dynamic models, construction of new spaces at Fitzsimons were adjusted to 

ensure that there are no projected annual deficits or deficits at the end of the 

transition period. 

Market Opportunities. The market analysis conducted for UCHSC and UH as a 

component of this master plan indicates that there are opportunities in both clinical 

and research areas to increase current market shares. Developing these 

opportunities into new programs will require additional space, which does not exist 

on the 9 th Avenue campus. Ignoring these market opportunities could jeopardize 

the competitiveness and stability of the institutions. Therefore, priority for early 

development of new facilities at Fitzsimons has been given to programs such as the 

ambulatory care complex and research buildings. 

Implementing the Vision. Much of the deliberations within the planning process 

focused on how the vision statement themes would be implement in the 

development of the new campus. For example, an integrated approach to 

IV-3



education facilities evolved as a recommendation to support new interdisciplinary 

programs and changes in curricula. Therefore, the construction of new space at 

Fitzsimons does not include building self-contained schools, but rather models the 

development of shared instructional facilities and provides for relatively smaller 

“home bases” to accommodates school administrative spaces and specialized 

student services that are unique to a school or program. 

Opportunistic Development. The transition plan, and future modifications to it, 

includes the development of facilities and programs that result from unforeseen and 

unplanned opportunities that may arise for a variety of reasons. For example, a 

donor may wish to accelerate the construction of a certain facility by providing the 

funds. Federal or state initiatives may result in the development of programs earlier 

than otherwise planned. It is important to note that opportunistic development is 

welcome by the two institutions, but will not be the primary strategy for the 

construction of the new campus. 

Program Relocation Sequencing 

Education 

Current instructional and library space at the 9 th Avenue campus totals about 

200,000 gsf. The Education Core Team identified a long-term need of 475,000 gsf, 

which will include: the library, clinical evaluation and teaching facilities for the School 

of Dentistry, and other instructional space. Instructional space is identified on the 

transition schedule as Education I through IV and includes the need in later years for 

an additional 90,000 gsf. This instructional space will be shared by all of the UCHSC 

education programs. The five health sciences center schools will each have an 

identity in the administration space (160,000 gsf), which will also include faculty 

offices that are not assigned in either research or clinical space and student support 

services that are unique to a school or program. 

The funds to support the development of education space are anticipated to come 

primarily from state sources, and these resources will need to be reserved until the 

amounts are large enough to construct education facilities. The financial model 

demonstrates that early in the transition time frame, only approximately 100,000 gsf 

of instructional space is feasible. According to the model, the remainder of education 

facilities can be funded toward the end of transition time frame. This will result in 

education programs being separated because the facilities of both sites will be 

needed through the last year of the transition. The 90,000 gsf that is deferred is 

needed as programs, but the absence of this space will not prevent full relocation of 

all education programs by the end of the 12-year transition. 

Because the the current 9 th Avenue campus education space will be used throughout 

the transition time frame, initial new space at Fitzsimons will be dedicated to new 

types of education facilities that do not currently exist to support UCHSC programs. 

For example, simulation labs, computer labs, small problem-based learning rooms, 

IV-4



and learning/study carrels, will be built early at Fitzsimons, while the more traditional 

spaces will continue to be used at the 9 th Avenue campus. 

Research 

The projected space needs for the long-term to support UCHSC research 1.8 million 

gsf. This total includes wet laboratories, dry laboratories, office space for 

investigators, and support space including animal resources. The current space at 

the 9 th Avenue campus for these same functions is 750,000 gsf. Therefore, a threefold 

increase is needed. 

The goal of transition planning for research was to create as much space as 

possible, at the earliest possible date, at Fitzsimons. There is an existing shortage of 

research space, which is negatively affecting faculty productivity and growth of 

programs. This serious shortage is impacting faculty recruitment and forcing the 

development of new programs to be indefinitely postponed. 

In planning discussions, the research constituency at the UCHSC suggested that a 

“core” of research activities that are highly integrated and interactive could not be 

separated. Although this core has not been specifically defined, an estimate of the 

amount of space currently used to house the existing core activities is in the range of 

500,000 gsf to 600,000 gsf of space. Therefore, the immediate goal for research 

space at Fitzsimons was estimated to be about 800,000 gsf of new space in order to 

accommodate this core and allow for at least a 30% increment of growth. The 

transition schedule shows this space being constructed in two increments, with the 

first 600,000 increment being completed in five years, and the second 200,000 

increment being completed in 8 years. 

Once this new space is completed and research programs from the 9 th Avenue 

campus are relocated to Fitzsimons, the total research space available for UCHSC 

programs will have doubled, because the 9 th Avenue space will be used to house 

existing programs, program growth, and new programs. As indicated in the “later 

years” column on the transition schedule, another 1 million gsf of research space will 

be needed at Fitzsimons in the long-term to accomplish the full relocation of all 

UCHSC research programs. 

Clinical Care 

Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, Dept. of Psychiatry 

The new Native American/TeleHeatlh Center is being constructed to support new 

research program growth and to establish a state-of-the-art clinical and education 

technology center that will house both distance education and telemedicine 

programs. Most, but not all, of these programs are associated with the Department 

of Psychiatry. 

IV-5



The Colorado Psychiatric Hospital (CPH) and the remainder of the Department of 

Psychiatry are scheduled to move coincident with UH inpatient programs. In 

addition, the timing reflects the need to reserve resources in advance of relocating. 

CPH inpatient will be built contiguous to the UH inpatient facility. CPH outpatient and 

departmental dry lab research and administration will be in one facility located in 

close proximity to CPH inpatient. 

UH Clinical 

The transition schedule illustrates that ambulatory care programs will relocate to new 

facilities at Fitzsimons early in the time frame. This plan will allow UH to capture 

market opportunities and reorganize the manner in which care is provided. This 

space will be built to more easily accommodate education functions, such as the 

presence of residents and students in exam and procedure rooms. 

The School of Dentistry faculty practice will be located in the new ambulatory care 

center, which reflects the need to integrate that faculty into the clinical environment 

with other health sciences practitioners. 

UH inpatient programs are planned to be relocated at the end of the time frame 

because of the time needed to build reserves and so that current debt obligations 

can be reduced. 

Support 

The enthusiasm for development of a new campus stems partially from being able to 

plan for the types of facilities and amenities that will add quality of life and a sense of 

community for everyone on the campus. Therefore, the student center (campus 

center) was considered essential to include as early as possible in the transition 

schedule. Other support services and amenities were delayed to support the 

financial feasibility of building the new center. Although the alumni center was not 

included in the 12-year schedule, it is hoped that donors might have a special 

interest in such a facility, allowing it to be constructed in an earlier time frame. 

In the long-term, a communications center will be needed to serve as the hub of the 

complex campus information technology infrastructure. However, during the first 

twelve years, infrastructure support services can be expanded within Bldg. 500. 

The proposed UH warehouse which is placed early in the transition schedule is 

essential because a current lease for warehouse space will terminate in the Fall of 

2000. UH current provides warehouse services for the entire campus and will 

continue do so from a new Fitzsimons facility once it is constructed. 

IV-6



Conclusion and Summary 

This transition plan accomplishes the goals and policies established by the Board of 

Regents allows for immediate expansion of programs that are in critical need of new 

space, and accomplishes the move of the core of campus programs within 12 years. 

It involves the continued use of the 9 th Avenue campus in the most appropriate and 

expedient manner, while accomplishing the orderly, rational, and substantial move of 

programs to new facilities and a new environment that will nurture the development 

of the academic health center of the 21 st century. 

The financial analysis of this scenario is detailed in Section VII, and a more detailed 

description of the facilities that will be built at Fitzsimons is in Section V. 

IV-7



SECTION V 

FACILITIES PLAN 

“Imagine the wonderful facilities to be constructed at Fitzsimons, like 

lanterns, guiding beacons of light shining brightly in the night to guide 

intellectual travelers on their passages along the dark prairie.” 

David Hansen, Principal Designer, Perkins & Will, 1998 

A. Summary of Space and 

Physical Inventories 

9 th Avenue Campus 

The current University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC) 

campus is located southeast of the geographic center of the Denver 

metropolitan area at the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and East 9 th 

Avenue. The campus encompasses approximately 46 acres and is 

neighbor to the Veterans Administration Medical Center and Columbia-Rose 

Medical Center, forming a medical complex. The remainder of the 

immediately adjacent community is comprised of a mixture of residential 

and commercial facilities. The neighborhood was originally suburban 

residential area and has slowly transitioned to an urban community over the 

last 65 years. 

The UCHSC consists of five professional schools, Dentistry, Medicine, 

Nursing, Pharmacy, and Graduate. Additionally, the campus houses 

University Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for the UCHSC, and two 

affiliated institutes--Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes and 

Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Institute. 

The campus is split into three segments by local streets. Ninth Avenue is a 

major east-west street and forms a strong north-south division and for many 

years controlled northward expansion so that the majority of campus 

facilities are to the south of this street. The second dividing street is 

Colorado Boulevard which runs north-south and is one of the heaviest 

traveled arteries in the metropolitan area. The one city block of the campus 

west of this street is largely underdeveloped, with only surface parking and 

four old residential facilities now used for interim offices and a few minimal 

patient care services. 

The UCHSC facilities that house programs encompass approximately 2.4 

million gross square feet (gsf) of on-campus and off-campus building space 

 

V-1



to support its major educational, research, and patient care programs. Of 

this total, the majority of space is clinical followed by office and research 

space. 

Room Type GSF % of Total 

Office/Conference Space 602,637 24.9% 

Instructional Space 209,475 8.7% 

Research Space 521,918 21.6% 

Clinical Space 901,402 37.3% 

Animal Space 37,902 1.6% 

Other 146,523 6.1% 

Total 2,419,858 100% 

The majority of the 2.4 gsf is used by the School of Medicine and University 

Hospital. 

Schools/Major Units GSF % of Total 

School of Medicine 882,638 36% 

School of Dentistry 70,834 3% 

School of Nursing 58,370 2% 

School of Pharmacy 88,560 4% 

Grad School Administration 1,191 0% 

Psychiatric Hospital 109,372 5% 

University Hospital 820,000 34% 

Central Services/Admin 388,893 16% 

Total 2,419,858 100% 

To determine the amount of space for the facility master plan, future space 

projections for all of the major departments and programs were developed. 

The process used to determine the future space requirements by 

department or functional area included: 

• Review of the market analysis to understand future trends as related to 

the department and then, document current space utilization. 

• Distribution of a written survey to each department to document future 

programs, enrollment projections, staffing and associated space 

requirements. 

• Analysis of space requirements using a series of space planning 

methodologies for education, office, clinical and research space 

(Appendix B). 

 

V-2



• Validation of program plans and projected space requirements through 

individual interviews with each department. 

Based on this analysis, the future space requirements are projected to 

increase from 2.4 million gsf in 1998 to 4.2 million gsf in 2003 and, then, to 

4.7 million gsf in 2008. 

 

V-3



Fitzsimons 

Historical Context. The 217 acre site of the new UCHSC/UH campus is a 

portion of the grounds of the United States Army Garrison-Fitzsimons, 

originally General Hospital No. 21, which was established on the plains east 

of Denver in the closing months of World War I. The hospital’s specific 

mission was to care for the growing number of veterans suffering from 

tuberculosis and pulmonary diseases resulting from battlefield conditions 

during the war. The installation included medical buildings, residential 

quarters, administrative offices, recreational and educational facilities and 

agricultural fields. In composition, the hospital buildings embodied the latest 

medical philosophies regarding the treatment of tuberculosis. 

The post represented the expansion of military medical services associated 

with the war and the recognition of the beneficial effects of the cool dry air 

and abundant sunshine of Colorado’s climate on those afflicted with 

tuberculosis. Some of the early buildings were open air wards. Hospital 

administrators also believed that the creation of a pleasant landscape was 

important to the perception of the institution as a restorative place, a fact 

that is at least partially responsible for the park-like quality of the existing 

landscape at the Fitzsimons site. In 1926, in cooperation with the Forest 

Service, more that 200 trees were transplanted from Pike National Forest to 

the hospital grounds. 

The post had been established on lands which had formerly been platted as 

a suburban residential development known as Gutheil Park, the site of the 

Gutheil Nurseries, which grew fruit and shade trees, shrubbery and 

plantings for the local market during the early twentieth century. According 

to reports, the nursery and surrounding grounds were considered a 

showplace by local residents and attracted many visitors. Gutheil lived on 

the site in a large two-story residence called Park Lodge, which today is the 

commanding officer’s quarters. 

Groundbreaking for the facility occurred in April of 1918. The site was 

located beyond the eastern limits of the Denver region’s urbanization. The 

center of Aurora, whose 1920 population was just 983, was a mile to the 

west of the hospital. Colfax Avenue, which was later designated U.S. 40, 

linked the installation to Aurora and Denver. 

Lt. Col. William P. Harlow, of Boulder, who had been Dean of the University 

of Colorado Medical School prior to World War I, was the first Commander 

of the hospital. 

On June 26, 1920, the facility was redesignated Fitzsimons General 

Hospital. The post was named in honor of William Thomas Fitzsimons, the 

first Army officer of the United States to die in World War I. He was killed 

during an aerial bombardment on a field hospital on September 4, 1918. 

 

V-4



The hospital continued to play a significant role in pioneering new forms of 

care and treatment for tuberculosis and in training specialists in the field. 

On December 3, 1941, a new hospital building, now known as Building 500, 

was dedicated just four days prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This new 

state-of-the-art facility was the largest Army general hospital in the country 

and one of the largest tuberculosis hospitals in the world. The installation 

covered nearly a square-mile of land and included more than 300 buildings. 

It served as a major center for general medical treatment during World War 

II, when the built environment of the post expanded to include a theater, an 

enlisted technician’s school, facilities for members of the women’s Army 

Corps. and a prisoner of war camp. Following the war, the installation 

continued to provide expanded services, providing treatment for casualties 

of the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts. 

In 1996, after 78 years of service, the installation was formally closed by the 

Army in accordance with a base closure plan approved by Congress. 

The site for the Fitzsimons campus is integrally linked to the history of the 

region, and rich in its ties to the history of military medical practice. It has 

significant associations with a number of historical events and trends in 

military post design and general hospital creation and development. The 

architectural traditions of building orientation and a healing environment, 

although cast in structures that were largely constructed as temporary 

facilities, endure to today. Building 500 is considered eligible for the 

National Register of Historic Places. Many of the other structures on the 

site have been or are to be documented according to the standards of the 

Historical American Buildings Survey/Historical American Engineering 

Record, and a cooperative agreement between the Army, the Colorado 

State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Advisory Council on Historic 

Preservation, with the concurrence of the City of Aurora and the University 

of Colorado Health Sciences Center, has been established. 

To ensure that the legacy of this important site continues to endure, the 

master plan for the development of the Fitzsimons campus includes the 

preservation of significant historical landscape features such as the parade 

ground, the Sharon A. Lane Drive vista, and the informal park-like character 

of the landscape. Too, opportunities abound for historic references within 

the development of the new campus landscape, and artifacts, traditions and 

structures could be memorialized in a variety of ways within the fabric of the 

campus. 

General's Park, the site of the original Gutheil Nursery and an important 

historical open space, is to be preserved as a City of Aurora park. And the 

historic 'gateway' structure which served as a primary entrance to the site at 

the corner of Colfax Avenue and Peoria Streets, will be preserved as a part 

of the park development. 

 

V-5



The master plan also seeks to preserve significant structures such as the 

Auditorium Building, the Commander’s House, Building 500, and with the 

cooperation of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA), the historic 

Red Cross building, around which the original medical campus was 

planned. This historic structure is envisioned as the focal point in the 

development of a 'village center' of services to support the bioscience park 

and the UCHSC/UH campus. 

The new UCHSC/UH campus extends from Colfax Avenue north to Harlow 

Boulevard. The campus will be built in phases as a replacement for the 

current 46-acre campus on Colorado Boulevard. 

The UCHSC expects to reuse approximately 19 of the approximately 109 

facilities it will receive on the Fitzsimons campus. These 19 facilities 

account for approximately 750,000 gsf. Within the first 12-15 years, it is 

anticipated that the UCHSC will demolish all other facilities on the 

Fitzsimons campus. By the time total redevelopment takes place in 

approximately 20-30 years, most of the reuse facilities will be demolished 

with the exception of the Administrative Building – Fitzsimons (Building 

500), the Auditorium Building, and the Commander’s Residence. These 

total approximately 500,000 gsf. 

. 

 

V-6



CURRENT SYSTEMS AND 

INFRASTRUCTURE 

Site Conditions: 9th Avenue Campus 

The current campus is divided into three activity areas: Clinical, 

Academic/Research, and Support, providing some unity to the campus. 

The 3,623 parking spaces currently available on the 9th Avenue Campus 

are not sufficient to cover the existing parking demand. There are ample 

spaces for faculty, patients and visitors, however, long-term parking for staff 

and students are needed on the UCHSC campus. As functions are 

relocated to the Fitzsimons campus, the parking demand will decrease for 

these groups, and sufficient parking spaces for the total demand is 

anticipated. In fact the need has already decreased due to the renovation 

and utilization of Building 500. The decrease in traffic and parking 

requirements will make pedestrian movement easier and more pleasant. 

Due to the density of the campus, there are a minimal number of open 

areas to provide pleasing walkways or adequate visual separation of 

buildings. As the campus transitions, it is anticipated that the density and 

congestion will be reduced, making the amount of open space more 

appropriate to the campus. 

Standard urban easements and regulations apply to the parcels of land 

within the campus boundaries; however, because the University of Colorado 

is a constitutional entity, it has jurisdiction of the property regarding zoning 

and building department functions. This jurisdiction will apply as long as the 

University owns the property. 

Infrastructure and Building Systems: 9th Avenue Campus 

The buildings that make up the UCHSC campus range in age from four to 

74 years old. Normal upkeep and maintenance of all buildings, parking 

areas, and grounds will be required during the transition phase. Investment 

for the upgrade and replacement of aged and deteriorating portions of the 

infrastructure and building systems also will be required. An analysis of the 

facilities on the campus in April 1997 indicated that of the 19 facilities 

evaluated, approximately 40% are more than 30 years old, and 25% are 

more than 50 years old. In addition, of these 19 facilities, 22% were rated 

as being in poor condition, and only 20% were rated as being in good 

condition (excludes the Bellaire Building, which is in poor condition, and the 

University Hospital, which is in excellent condition). 

The major utilities and infrastructure on the 9th Avenue Campus are 

sufficient to serve the existing buildings on the campus. The existing utilities 

 

V-7



and systems will need to be maintained to remain operational. Key issues 

to be addressed include: 

• The central plant, located in the southeast corner of the campus, was 

originally built in 1924. It has undergone extensive changes in the last 

75 years, but will need additional upgrades to minimize problems due to 

equipment obsolescence. 

• The telecommunication system is being upgraded for approximately $2 

Million dollars to increase capability and reliability of the new network. 

For specifics and detail of existing space, infrastructure, building systems 

and other information, refer to Appendix C. 

 

V-8



Site Conditions: Fitzsimons campus 

In contrast to the Ninth and Colorado Campus, there is sufficient land at the 

Fitzsimons site to accommodate the circulation and facilities for the UCHSC 

campus. The site is located in close proximity to downtown Denver and the 

Denver International Airport. The Fitzsimons site can be easily accessed 

from the freeway and by public transit. The size of the site makes the 

development of open spaces possible and provides the opportunity to 

provide pleasant pedestrian areas. 

Parking currently includes on-street parking and surface lots. Existing offstreet 

parking lots have a capacity for 2,148 cars. In addition, parking 

spaces for approximately 1,000 cars are available on the existing streets. 

The existing easements and restrictions will be identified in the property 

conveyance transaction and in most cases will be maintained until the 

structures they serve are removed or until new access routes or services 

are provided. 

Proposed land uses on the Fitzsimons site in addition to the Bioscience 

Park and the education/medical zone of the UCHSC/UH campus include 

areas for commercial, industrial/laboratory, service, residential, and 

educational facilities. 

Infrastructure and Building Systems: Fitzsimons campus 

The 109 buildings on the UCHSC site were constructed between 1918 and 

the present. Their condition and suitability for reuse varies. According to a 

publication produced by the Colorado Historical Society, Office of 

Archeology and Historic Preservation, 1991, 25% of the buildings on the 

campus are rated in fair condition and 75% are rated as being on good 

condition. 

The existing hospital, Administrative Building-Fitzsimons (Building 500) has 

been studied for its architectural, structural, mechanical, and electrical 

problems and found to be in very good condition. This building is in the 

process of being renovated. 

While most required on-site infrastructure is in place to serve the base, 

much of it suffers from age and is in need of repair or replacement. 

Adequate capacity must be allocated in all systems to allow for future 

expansion. Each system must be examined to find a long-range solution 

that is also the most cost effective. 

 

V-9



The existing heating plant will not be adequate to supply new buildings with 

steam and hot water. A new central plant will need to be built or the existing 

plant expanded to serve the new buildings. Capacity will vary as buildings 

are added and removed from the system. A new chilled water plant for 

cooling will be required as the campus expands. 

Telecommunication systems will need to be updated or installed on the 

Fitzsimons campus including telephone and data communication 

components. 

For specifics and details of the existing space and detail for space 

infrastructure, building systems, and other information, refer to Appendix C. 

 

V-10



B. LAND UTILIZATION 

PLAN 


The overall goal for the master plan is to relocate the majority of the UCHSC 

campus to the Fitzsimons site over the next 12 years. Therefore, all new 

construction will be on the Fitzsimons site. 

The Land Utilization Plan for the 9 th Avenue campus, including University 

Hospital will consist of the following actions: 

• Eliminating leased facilities by relocating functions to the 

Fitzsimons campus or vacated space on the 9 th Avenue campus. In 

Phase I, this will include selected facilities leased proximate to the 

campus. 

• Selling peripheral properties that are no longer needed. In Phase I 

of the facility master plan, one of the first facilities to be constructed on 

the Fitzsimons campus is an ambulatory care center. Once occupied, 

the East Pavilion and other campus-based facilities used for ambulatory 

care will be sold. 

• Consolidating functions on the 9 th Avenue campus in vacated 

space with a minimal investment in renovation. Another one of the 

first buildings proposed for the Fitzsimons campus is a research 

building. After it is constructed, it is anticipated that research space will 

be available on the current campus for expansion or relocation of other 

research programs that may be located off-campus or scattered 

between several areas. Reuse of some of the research space on the 9 th 

Avenue campus may require renovation. A similar approach will be 

used to address office space deficiencies. 

• Decommissioning selected aged buildings as they are vacated. 

Future renovation or demolition of the existing buildings will be 

dependent on the future use of the 9 th and Colorado campus. In 

particular, aged buildings with numerous deficiencies such as the office 

annex will be decommissioned until the future use for the campus is 

determined. Demolition of existing facilities is not anticipated while the 

University owns the property. 

• Zoning. The campus is currently divided into four activity zones: 

Clinical, academic/research, and support. The general zoning of 

campus has been established such that health care is located north of 

9 th Avenue and academic/research, administration, service and mixed 

use occur south of Ninth Avenue. There are some exceptions to this 

pattern. For example, located in the north or clinical zone is the School 

 

V-11



of Dentistry and a biomedical research facility (the Barbara Davis 

Childhood Diabetes Center). Located in the southern portion is some 

health care activity in the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital. While most 

research is concentrated in the central area, a total blending of the two 

occurs in many areas. The campus administrative area and the 

campus support areas are located in the east portion of the campus. 

Areas designated for specific uses will change as departments leave 

are replaced by other function. 

In summary, the capital investment on the current campus will be limited to 

maintaining the infrastructure and minor renovation to backfill vacated space 

and eliminating selected leased facilities. 

Fitzsimons 

Vision Statement Themes 

Planning for the 21st century is an exciting challenge for any academic 

health center but for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and 

University Hospital, the new Fitzsimons campus offers unique possibilities. 

Creating a new concept for a total learning environment for the health 

sciences, promoting research, education, and clinical services, is the goal of 

the physical plan. The program plan for the replacement of the University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital will be housed in 

facilities developed over time at the Fitzsimons campus 

While the institutional master plan includes many components, the physical 

master plan outlines the development opportunities for buildings and land in 

a rational and lasting way. The physical framework principles developed as 

guidelines for the physical campus design will facilitate the successful 

implementation of goals and objectives supporting the vision of the 

academic medical campus of the future. 

This section focuses on the physical aspects of the Fitzsimons campus as 

well as the condition of facilities at the 9th Avenue campus. This section 

also includes the proposed physical master plan concept for the Fitzsimons 

campus, as well as the principles used in developing this plan. As with any 

development, existing conditions, external influences, programmatic 

requirements, and phasing are integral parts of the facilities plan and these 

are described in this section. 

The physical planning for the new Fitzsimons campus of the University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital seeks to translate 

the institutional vision described in Section V into a physical form. The 

Fitzsimons campus, when constructed, should embody the themes that run 

through the vision statements developed by the seven vision teams. 

 

V-12



Most aspects of the vision statements revolve around the research, 

education, clinical and public service missions of the University of Colorado 

Health Sciences Center and University Hospital. These easily translate into 

themes for the facilities and campus components. The campus plan 

focuses primarily on the themes of: 

• Interdisciplinary Work. Discovery and innovation will increasingly be 

based upon interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary work, including 

academic disciplines not traditionally part of health sciences 

education and research. 

• Integration. Greater degrees of integration amongst research, 

education and clinical activities will encourage and facilitate increased 

synergy in education, discovery in research, and application of new 

knowledge in clinical arenas. 

• Access. The new University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and 

University Hospital must be accessible to all potential users. This 

includes physical access for pedestrians as well as vehicles; access 

via telecommunications for learning, information, and resource 

sharing; and, friendly and welcoming access to the campus for all 

who visit, work, and study there. 

• External Partners. Alliances, affiliations and partnerships with outside 

entities will be essential. These will include a broad spectrum of 

groups such as business and industry, government agencies, 

colleges and universities, and others in all areas of research, 

education, and clinical activity. 

• Core Support Services. Consolidation of scarce or costly resources 

for shared access by the entire campus will become increasingly 

important. These resources include equipment, technology, scholarly 

resources, as well as people. 

• Technology. Future developments in technology will both drive and 

enable new opportunities in all aspects of research, education and 

clinical activities. Technology encompasses all systems that use 

electronic voice, video, and data so that resources and ideas can be 

shared over a regional, national, and global network. 

• Flexibility. Given the changes dynamic and changing environment in 

which an academic health center must learn to thrive, the new 

campus framework as well as the buildings and infrastructure must 

be designed with inherent flexibility to accommodate the future. 

 

V-13



These vision themes have been incorporated into the physical framework 

principles and woven into the fabric of the campus development plan and 

the construct of how buildings will be designed. 

Physical Framework Principles 

In conjunction with the vision themes, physical framework principles were 

developed as part of the master plan process. The physical zoning and 

planning of the campus is based upon these principles, the proposed 

development plans of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority (FRA) and 

the redevelopment plans of the City of Aurora. These principles embody 

fundamentals that will serve to shape the development of the campus in 

ways that further the mission and purpose and, provide a coherent and 

definable campus ambience. These principles include: 

• Create a campus organized around the concept of planned open 

spaces and groupings of buildings that has a unified image and 

identity beyond the importance, identity, or function of any single 

component. It is important to achieve this quality as early as possible 

in the development of the new Fitzsimons campus. 

• Define overall campus zones for research, education and clinical 

facilities that overlap to promote interdisciplinary development and 

activities, and sharing of resources. 

• Create a pedestrian oriented campus to enhance access to open 

space and offer greater opportunities for informal interaction between 

faculty, students and staff. 

• Provide connections to community amenities and resources, such as 

the adjacent open space of Sand Creek, as natural extensions of the 

open space of the campus. 

• Maintain the historic “gateway” to the campus off Colfax Avenue to 

provide a recognizable entrance to the campus that is easily 

accessible. 

• Enhance the image and identity of the campus edge with a landscape 

buffer along Colfax Avenue. This maintains the historic green zone of 

Fitzsimons along Colfax Avenue and differentiates the campus from 

the surrounding commercial development. 

• Create a campus common area that relates to and enhances the 

village center that is to be developed at the juncture of the Bioscience 

Park, the commercial and civic area, and the campus. This proximity 

will promote interaction between the campus community and the 

surrounding public/private communities. 

 

V-14



• Provide a framework for the campus plan of defined open spaces that 

gives identity to campus precincts, promotes pedestrian circulation, 

establishes a memorable campus movement sequence, and 

promotes orderly development of the campus. 

• Provide multiple points of vehicular entry to the campus to increase 

accessibility for patients, faculty, staff, students and visitors. This will 

avoid congestion and will better accommodate the volume and variety 

of traffic generated by the academic health center. 

• Create an internal campus vehicular circulation network to facilitate 

access from one area of the campus to another without utilizing 

neighboring public streets. 

• Create a variety of building heights and forms that de-emphasize 

Building 500. New buildings should create an image for the 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University 

Hospital that is differentiated from the historic image of Fitzsimons 

and conveys the future of an academic health science community. 

• Preserve opportunities for future development by creating “land bank” 

areas on the site. 

• Provide inherent flexibility to accommodate changes and new 

opportunities in both the campus plan and for individual buildings. 

The master plan framework should allow for the future expansion of 

buildings and the placement new buildings at logical sites. 

• Provide for a logical, cost-effective sequence of development of the 

campus that maximizes the utilization of existing resources. 

These Physical Framework Principles are the guidelines for the campus 

development and have been incorporated into the proposed Fitzsimons 

Campus Plan. These will also be coordinated and integrated with the 

principles and guidelines from the FRA and City of Aurora planning efforts. 

 

V-15



Notable and memorable campuses have a cohesiveness in the outdoor 

spaces and the architecture of the buildings that knits the varied 

components together as a single campus entity. The outdoor spaces can 

be informal, formal, or both. The architecture of the buildings can have 

consistent style, scale, materials, and color or not. But, memorable 

campuses have something that pulls them all together: the quadrangle at 

the University of Virginia; the building materials and color palette at the 

Boulder campus of the University of Colorado; the landscaping and outdoor 

spaces of the University of California at Los Angeles; the cloister effect of 

Rice University; the different architectural style of each building at the 

University of Cincinnati. 

For the new Fitzsimons campus of the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center and University Hospital, the concept of campus is 

embodied in two key themes: 

• A planned framework of open spaces 

• A Colorado palette of materials and colors 

These strong themes will weave the fabric of the new campus and ultimately 

create a cohesive campus environment. 

A Planned Framework of Open Spaces. A hierarchy of open spaces is 

utilized in the campus plan as the overall organizing element of the campus. 

These spaces define pedestrian circulation routes, provide connections 

between the various campus zones and precincts, and identify potential 

sites for buildings. In addition, the open spaces will offer views from 

buildings and pedestrian areas and will be focal points for groupings of 

buildings. 

The open spaces will vary in size and importance based upon the location 

and function of each space. Quadrangles, linear greenways, gardens, 

intimate spaces, and informal and naturally landscaped spaces will offer a 

wide variety of scale and materials. Grand spaces will serve the needs of 

large and public groups while smaller spaces will provide quiet areas for 

solitude and meditation. 

It is anticipated that the open spaces in each zone might be different to 

reflect the population primarily served by that zone. For instance, the 

research zone open space might be more conducive to small gatherings 

and promote interaction between building occupants. The clinical zone 

open space would likely be designed primarily for patient and family use, but 

also for staff. These spaces would be more contemplative and visual than 

active. The education zone spaces support students and function as the 

 

V-16



center of the campus for students. Therefore, these spaces would be the 

least formal and the most active. 

The existing parade ground will be preserved as an historical reminder of 

Fitzsimons’ origin. A significant open space, or green, will be developed 

north of Building 500 in the heart of the campus where informal recreational 

activities can take place but also where formal events such as 

commencement ceremonies can be held. 

The Colorado Palette of Materials. The design of the individual buildings, 

site structures, and hardscape on the site will not be limited to a specific 

architectural style. The built environment of the campus is intended to be a 

unified and complementary composition of built elements that define and 

reinforce the individual open spaces as well as the open space framework. 

Building forms and massing should be varied to provide visual interest to the 

overall composition as well as to the individual buildings and site structures. 

Variety of scale will also serve to de-emphasize Building 500. 

The palette of materials and colors will serve as the unifying force for all the 

buildings on the campus. The recommended palette is based on colors and 

materials indigenous to, and representative of, Colorado. Included are a 

variety of stones and stone textures, wood, metal and glass. The terra cotta 

and buff tones of the native sandstone formations dominate the palette. 

White is used to provide contrast and adds crispness against the brightness 

of the sky in Colorado. Accent colors include darker values to broaden the 

range and are drawn from the earth tones of the soils and geology of the 

prairie and foothills. 

The colors and materials can be used differently on each building and in 

varying proportions allowing great latitude in design. Not all materials and 

colors need to be used in every building. The materials and colors will be 

fully described and specified in the design guidelines for the Fitzsimons 

campus. 

Based on the physical framework principles and the two dominant themes, 

the campus master plan for Fitzsimons is designed to provide flexibility in 

both the short-term and long-term implementation of the campus and to 

provide opportunities for creativity in the design of functional and 

centerpiece buildings and structures. 

 

V-17



The Site. Fronting on Colfax Avenue and bounded by Peoria, Harlow and 

Van Valzah Streets, the site of the Fitzsimons campus of the University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital is essentially a 

rectangle with the existing Building 500 centrally located on the site. Access 

to the site is primarily from Colfax Avenue along Sharon A. Lane that is 

centered on the axis of Building 500. The east-west Charlie Kelly Boulevard 

bisects the campus on the south side of Building 500. 

Campus Zoning. The overall campus has been zoned for the primary 

activities of research, education, clinical, and campus support and 

amenities. As the zoning diagram on the following page illustrates, each 

zone overlaps with the other zones to create places for interdisciplinary 

facilities and shared facilities. Each zone is centered by a major open 

space as a focal point for that zone, with other planned open spaces 

providing linkages to adjoining zones and other groupings of buildings. 

The research zone is located in the northwest area of the site proximate to 

the proposed Bioscience Park. The Clinical zone is located in the 

southwest area of the site, easily accessed, and visible, from Colfax Avenue 

for convenient and clear patient wayfinding. The juxtaposition and overlap 

of these two zones offers great opportunities to locate buildings for shared 

clinical and research activities and to promote synergy between the two in 

developing applications for new discoveries. 

The research zone open space, a series of quadrangles, is designed to 

connect with the clinical facilities as well as the Bioscience Park. This 

alignment implies and reflects the direct relationship between discovery and 

application to market development and clinical application. 

The clinical zone is designed primarily for patient convenience and comfort. 

Since this is the most publicly accessed part of the campus, clear 

wayfinding is essential. It is likely that most of these buildings will face out 

toward the “public” side of the campus with a more “private” face to the 

quadrangles and other open spaces that connect to the rest of the campus. 

In addition, future relationships on this campus with affiliates and other 

institutions must be accommodated. 

The clinical zone design, both exterior and interior, should reflect a healing 

environment offering patients, families, and staff opportunities for 

meditation, stress reduction, and family gatherings. These areas could 

have water features which are psychologically relaxing; seating suitable for 

patients; wider walkways to accommodate wheelchairs, and so forth. 

The education zone is located in the northeast area of the site, overlapping 

with both the research zone and the clinical zone. Although much of the 

education mission will be accommodated in shared classroom and 

teaching/learning facilities in the research and clinical buildings, there will be 

 

V-18



some predominantly education facilities. Additionally, there will be 

administrative facilities for the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, 

Nursing, and the Graduate School in this zone. 

Included in all three of these zones, as well as being located adjacent to the 

village center, will be facilities for amenities and support services such as an 

alumni center, faculty center, campus center, and so on. These will form 

the heart of the campus for students, faculty, staff and alumni and will be 

located near the village center, the 

Building 500, and the area along the east side of Sharon A. Lane Drive. 

At this time the southeast area of the campus is reserved for future 

development and is indicated as undeveloped. This area of the campus is 

also a potential site for affiliated institutions that may want to locate to this 

campus. 

In addition to the functional zones and the “land bank” zone in the southeast 

area, a landscaped buffer zone is planned along Colfax Avenue to recall the 

historic open space of Fitzsimons. The landscaping will establish an image 

and identity for the campus that differentiates it from the neighboring 

commercial and civic development. 

Access and Circulation. As stated in the physical framework principles, the 

historic “gateway” to the campus off Colfax Avenue at Sharon A. Lane Drive 

will remain and will be enhanced and developed as the ceremonial entry. 

This entrance will also serve as the main entry point for patients and visitors 

to the clinical zone since it is highly visible and easy to find. This will allow 

the high volume of patient and visitor traffic to remain on the perimeter of 

the campus. 

Other campus entry points will be off Peoria, Van Valzah, and Harlow 

Streets, connecting with the campus internal roadway system. A new “ring” 

road is planned within the campus to facilitate movement from one area of 

the campus to another without use of public streets. This road will also 

serve to keep most of the vehicular traffic on the perimeter of the campus 

and preserve the heart of the campus as a pedestrian zone. Two east-west 

streets, north and south of Building 500, will be developed to provide 

vehicular access to most areas of the campus. 

Bicycle paths will be developed along roadways as well as through the 

campus and, ultimately, connecting to Sand Creek. Service vehicles will be 

limited to shared service courts so that intersections with pedestrians will be 

minimized. 

 

V-19



To create a truly pedestrian campus, parking will be accommodated on the 

perimeter of the site, easily accessible from the “ring road” and 

neighborhood streets. With surface lots and parking structures dispersed, 

walking distances can still be minimized. 

Pedestrian Circulation. The campus is designed as a pedestrian 

environment with relatively few roads in the center. Pedestrian movement 

will be through a sequence of open spaces, along walkways, adjacent to 

buildings, and on sidewalks bordering streets. A major east-west greenway 

across the campus will provide connectivity of all the major open spaces in 

each zone and serve as an informal gathering place for all of the campus 

community. 

Connections. Connections between buildings and functions are critical to 

the concept of campus integration, interdisciplinary work, and shared 

resources. While the planned, linked open spaces will provide connectivity 

from one zone or area of the campus to another. A second level of 

connectivity is important to promote the integration of disciplines and 

activities amongst the research, education and clinical functions. This is the 

physical connection between buildings. These connections can take on a 

variety of forms from underground tunnels, open walkways at grade level, 

bridges, enclosed building sections, or a combination of these. The 

Fitzsimons master plan illustrates how groupings of buildings can be linked 

around planned open spaces. 

Landscape. The landscape concept is to create a campus in a park. The 

proposed informal landscape emulates the characteristics of the existing 

General’s Park. A limited amount of contrasting formal landscaping is to be 

used to create emphasis and to enhance wayfinding. 

The campus plan includes a variety exterior spaces with distinctive scales, 

styles, and functions. Together they create an organized system of places 

that provide interest, order and orientation. These spaces fit together in a 

hierarchy that defines and relates their purpose, character, and relationship 

to the whole. Each space is to be designed in terms of its unique purpose, 

so the resulting landscape reinforces the basic program, organization and 

character of each area. 

Campus edges are critical for establishing a first impression, a long lasting 

image and a sense of place. Edges include entrances, corners and the 

space in between. The landscaping is to be simple but elegant with special 

emphasis placed on major visitors' entrances and prominent corners. To tie 

the campus to the surrounding community, the landscaping of campus 

edges is to compliment the edges of surrounding properties including the 

native landscape of nearby creeks. 

 

V-20



Quadrangles are the most commonly used exterior spaces. They provide 

relief from the density of the campus buildings, while they provide an 

informal yet symbolic landscape that clearly states “this is a traditional 

American educational campus.” They are the pedestrian crossroads of the 

Campus. As such, quadrangles express and facilitate the collegiality of the 

university environment. They should be designed for walking, waiting, 

playing, and gathering. 

The character of landscaping in the quadrangle is intended to complement 

surrounding buildings and programs. When quadrangles are formed by 

buildings fronting on the space, an appropriate informal landscape is used 

to complement the character of the space. If the space is large, formal 

landscaping might be used around the perimeter to reduce the overall 

feeling of scale. When buildings do not face the space, or do not provide 

adequate enclosure, formal plantings are used to reinforce a sense of order 

and provide definition. 

The landscape design of quadrangles seeks to encourage rather than 

restrict multiple use. Elements and functions that detract from this flexibility 

are strongly discouraged. Grading design and the placement of trees, 

lighting, and furnishings must enhance the potential variety of short and 

long-term uses. Appropriate design minimizes hard surfaces, barriers and 

other obstacles within large open spaces that compromise flexibility. Truck 

and auto circulation, service areas, storage, parking, and other uses that 

conflict with pedestrian enjoyment are also to be minimized in quadrangles. 

Building facades next to quadrangles should present a “front door” and a 

pedestrian-friendly facade at the ground level. 

The development of the landscape for open spaces can contribute greatly to 

the enjoyment and security of the users. Shrubs and other elements that 

can obscure views should be used sparingly. Lighting from pedestrianscale 

fixtures should provide the highest light levels at building entrances 

and at entrances to the exterior spaces, with the next highest light levels 

around the perimeter of the space to create a sense of safety and well 

being. To further enhance the use of exterior spaces, furnishings should be 

ample, but carefully located to relate to views, or provide a more intimate 

experience within the larger space. Fixed seating around the edges of the 

space provides private seating with views to the center and to passing 

pedestrian traffic. 

The adequate landscaping of parking lots is critical to the overall landscape 

quality of the campus. Trees with large canopies provide shade from the 

hot Colorado sun, while they soften the appearance of vast amounts of 

asphalt and contribute to the campus image. Landscape patterns in parking 

lots can also act as way-finding mechanisms; planting islands serve as 

convenient places to pile snow. 

 

V-21



The campus landscape envisioned by the master plan will visually unify the 

campus while providing interest as one travels from space to space. The 

campus’ overall image is one of buildings set within an informal park. It is to 

be designed to provide comfort and shelter for people using exterior spaces. 

By creating unique qualities, patterns and character in the development of 

the landscape, it will serve as a way finding mechanism, providing 

orientation that helps direct people to their destinations. It is to be planned 

and designed to contribute to energy conservation and as a consequence a 

reduction in utility costs. Finally, the landscape will enhance the campus 

image and create a greater appreciation of programs occurring within 

campus facilities. 

The successful implementation of the campus plan depends on developing 

enough critical mass of buildings grouped around specific open spaces to 

create a sense of place quickly. To that end, each building project must 

include some communal open space development so the overall campus is 

developed in an integrated fashion. 

Site Development Phasing 

Given the enormity of the undertaking to replace and relocate the entire 

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital to 

Fitzsimons, tremendous resources and logistical planning are required. The 

goal is to create a core campus environment at Fitzsimons as quickly as 

possible. This will depend on developing, in the short-term, a critical mass 

of buildings grouped together to form the initial open spaces and to define 

the initial roadway system. Over the long-term, other groupings of 

buildings will be added to further define and extend the open space 

framework and the roadways. 

Along with the architectural and site development components of the 

campus, the appropriate programs are needed in the short-term to provide 

the multi-disciplinary, interactive, and diverse community of patients, faculty, 

students, and staff that, in fact, make a dynamic and successful campus. 

Short-Term (5 years) 

As described in Section IV, Transition, the relocation of the University of 

Colorado Health Sciences Center and University Hospital to the Fitzsimons 

campus will occur over a period of years. 

In the short-term period of 5 years, the emphasis for development will be 

research space and ambulatory care space with significant new buildings. 

New buildings for ambulatory clinical practice and education will be in place. 

Renovations to existing buildings on the campus will be completed to allow 

for long-term and interim use of the facilities, providing additional space for 

new and expanding programs that can no longer be accommodated at the 

 

V-22



9th Avenue campus. In addition, construction of substantial research 

facilities will be underway along with construction of additional education 

facilities and support services facilities. 

The placement and grouping of these buildings on the site will make a 

substantial beginning for the core of the new campus, including the 

definition and construction of the planned open spaces associated with 

these new buildings and their zones of the campus. 

Roads, utilities, a central utility plant module and other infrastructure 

development to support these buildings will also be constructed during this 

period. All parking will be accommodated in surface lots adjacent to the 

buildings. 

Long-Term 

Over the long-term, programs will move to Fitzsimons as broadly outlined in 

the transition plan and in the physical master plan for the campus. The goal 

is to have the appropriate complement of programs and services at 

Fitzsimons and at the 9th Avenue campus so that the Health Sciences 

Center continues to operate effectively during the transition period. 

This period of the transition plan will see most of education programs, 

administrative functions of the five schools, and the Campus Center, moving 

to Fitzsimons, facilitating the build-out of the center portion of the campus. 

Additional research facilities will be constructed, allowing a significant 

research zone open space to be completed. The replacement facilities for 

the University Hospital and the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital will also be 

constructed during this period. Along with the construction of these facilities 

would be the completion of the major open spaces for the clinical and 

education zones, as well as the landscape buffer zone and the village 

center connections. 

The long-term period culminates in the addition of another 1 million square 

feet of research space at Fitzsimons and the addition of education and 

support spaces. 

Incremental central utility plant modules, roadways, infrastructure, and utility 

distribution systems construction will occur as needed by the phased new 

building construction. The need for these elements is linked to the square 

footage of buildings constructed and to the location of the building groups 

on the campus. 

Parking will continue to be accommodated in surface lots as long as they 

can appropriately meet the demand for parking space. As the demand 

increases, parking structures will be constructed in designated locations 

toward the perimeter of the campus. These locations align with vehicular 

 

V-23



entry points to the campus and to the various functional zones. Most 

important, the peripheral location preserves the pedestrian nature of the 

campus center. 

While the Fitzsimons campus will begin to feel and look like a campus with 

the completion of the short-term phase, the complete build-out of the 

program space (approximately 5 million square feet) will result in a 

comprehensive campus environment enlivened by the complete and diverse 

academic health center community. 

Over the next century, additional facilities will likely be constructed in the 

“land bank” area and the density of the campus will increase as buildings 

are expanded and new buildings are inserted into the various functional 

zones, reaching the planned campus build-out of 8 million square feet. 

Throughout the maturation of the campus, the fundamental themes of 

planned open spaces that connect and organize the campus and the 

Colorado palette of materials and colors will bind the pieces and parts 

together into a single, memorable campus. 

The Fitzsimons Plan 

As the new millenium approaches, the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center and University Hospital are uniquely positioned to become 

the foremost academic health center in the country. The opportunity to 

relocate the entire Health Sciences Center to the former Fitzsimons Army 

Medical Center campus is exciting and challenging not only for the 

University but for the growing Denver metropolitan area, the City of Aurora, 

and the professional community of the Health Sciences Center and 

University Hospital. 

The opportunities afforded by the relocation of the campus to Fitzsimons are 

unprecedented: 

• Virtually unlimited growth potential with 217 acres of land and 

infrastructure located at the intersection of two major interstate 

highways 

• Total commitment and support of the University of Colorado Regents 

and the Colorado Legislature to the move will provide direct financial 

support and new mechanisms to develop additional funding 

• A site located where significant regional growth stimulated by the new 

Denver International Airport, the redevelopment of Stapleton Airport, 

the redevelopment of Lowry Air Force Base and major new highway 

construction is taking place. 

 

V-24



• The full support and cooperation of the City of Aurora in 

redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood to provide 

complementary services and facilities and to improve the environs of 

the new campus. 

• The Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority’s plan for the remainder of 

the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center base which includes 

development of a Bioscience Park, commercial and civic facilities, a 

village center, and other compatible services. 

• A burgeoning telecommunications industry hub located in the Denver 

metropolitan area that affords access to and partnerships with cutting 

edge global technology and services. 

This unique set of circumstances forms the context for a new campus that 

could be the place where innovation and discovery occur and the translation 

of these ideas into applications is developed. 

To take full advantage of this opportunity, the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center and University Hospital embarked upon a highly 

participatory, year-long master plan process to: 

• define the vision of the academic health center of the future 

• develop a physical master plan which embodies the vision 

• develop a transition plan to migrate from the 9th Avenue campus to 

Fitzsimons 

• develop a financial plan that supports and enables a successful 

relocation 

The process has been highly successful in achieving these goals which are 

described in this Institutional Master Plan. 

 

V-25



Reuse and Demolition 

There are 109 structures associated with the property conveyance, totaling 

approximately 1,785,500 gsf. The buildings range in age from 10 to 80 

years old. Over 72 percent of the total buildings were constructed before 

1950. The majority of buildings were designed as temporary facilities to 

accommodate patient care or residential uses and are primarily masonry or 

wood construction. 

Building Reuse 

All buildings have been surveyed to determine their potential for reuse. Of 

the 1,783,500 gsf of building area conveyed, 27 percent has been 

designated for long- term use and an additional 14 percent for interim term 

use. 

Additionally, 19 percent of total building area will be conveyed at a later 

date. Until that time, the U.S. Army will lease these buildings for residential 

purposes. 

The four buildings that have been selected for long-term use (Buildings 1, 2, 

500 and 521) have the potential of being designated for the historic 

landmark register. 

The master plan where possible took into consideration locations of 

buildings that were designated for reuse in order to maximize the 

investment in renovation. 

The reuse plan shows the location of 16 buildings that will be reused. 

 

V-26



BUILDING REUSE 

Bldg No. Building Use GSF Comments 

1 Commander’s House 6,615 Long-Term Use 

2 Annex 1,475 Long-Term Use 

500 Administration/Clinics 448,000 Long-Term Use 

521 Auditorium 19,694 Long-Term Use 

Subtotal 475,784 

400 To be determined 27,193 Interim Use 


402 Air Force (leased) 22,632 Interim Use 



410 Inventory Storage 13,910 Interim Use 

419 Tri-County Health 

12,984 Interim Use 

(leased) 

421 Facilities 12,516 Interim Use 


504 University Police 17,503 Interim Use 

508 Inventory Storage 21,516 Interim Use 

514 School of Dentistry 

8,510 Interim Use 

(Clinic) 

610 Psych. Primate Lab 6,960 Interim Use 

618 AHEC 19,714 Interim Use 

633 Ground Storage 2,423 Interim Use 

Subtotal 254,885 

Building Demolition 

During the next 12 years, 105 buildings will be demolished as required by 

the New Building Construction program. As funds become available, some 

building may be demolished sooner than required by the program plan to 

reduce maintenance costs, increase safety and to enhance the aesthetic 

quality of the campus. 

The table above shows the location and the time period in which the 

building will be demolished. 

The table beginning on the following page lists the buildings to be 

demolished and their associated building areas. 

 

V-27



BUILDING DEMOLITION 

Bldg. No. Building Use GSF 

400 Hotel 27,193 

401 Hotel 22,656 

402 Hotel 22,632 

403 Clinic 21,057 

404 Clinic/Child Care 23,728 

405 Hospital 11,977 

406 Hotel 19,485 

407 Hotel 19,509 



410 Pharmacy 13,910 

413 Child Care 6,206 

416 Child Care 6,008 



419 Hotel 12,984 

420 Family Housing 16,106 

421 Office 12,868 

422 Training/Conf/Office 16,443 

502 Science Lab 4,310 



504 Police Station 17,503 




508 Storage 21,297 

509 Admin Bldg 15,357 

510 Admin Bldg 1,978 

511 Med Library 46,988 

511 Office 39,252 


514 Dental Clinic 8,496 


515 Community Facs 2,357 

516 Ortho Brace Shop 2,889 

517 Library Annex 9,350 

519 CVRD STR Inst. 971 

520 Community Fac. 29,103 

526 Telephone Cable 8,178 

526 Office 2,577 

 

V-28





528 CVRD STR Inst. 6,054 

529 CVRD STR Inst. 19,764 



532 Emergency Gen. 975 

533 Linear Accelerator 5,080 

534 Angiography 3,299 

600 Science Lab 10,335 


601 Research Lab 22,463 

602 Analytical Lab 21,134 

602 Office 9,516 

603 Computer/Office 13,527 

603 Office 8,379 

604 Training 21,362 



610 Animal Fac. 6,960 

611 Office 17,842 



618 Office 19,545 


630 COMMO Bldg. 4,690 

631 UPH Enlisted 4,690 

632 Family Housing 19,444 

633 FH Det Facs 2,423 

700 Housing 10,770 

701 Housing 7,394 

702 Housing 7,394 

703 Housing 10,770 

704 Housing 7,394 

705 Housing 3,706 

706 Housing 3,706 

707 Housing 3,706 

708 Housing 3,706 

709 Housing 3,706 

710 Housing 3,706 

711 Housing 6,489 

712 Housing 13,552 

713 Housing 6,489 

714 Housing 6,489 

 

V-29




715 Housing 6,489 

716 Housing 6,489 

717 Housing 10,770 

718 Housing 6,489 

719 Housing 7,005 

720 Housing 12,732 

721 Housing 11,380 

722 Housing 12,732 

723 Housing 11,482 

800 Housing 12,731 

801 Housing 18,397 

802 Housing 12,731 

803 Housing 18,397 

804 Housing 8,109 

805 Housing 8,109 

806 Housing 18,397 

807 Housing 12,731 

808 Housing 12,731 

809 Housing 15,409 

810 Housing 15,409 

811 Housing 15,409 

TOTAL 1,295,017 

 

V-30



C. INFRASTRUCTURE AND 

MAJOR SYSTEMS 

REQUIREMENTS 

The infrastructure and major utility systems are critical “underpinnings” for 

both the Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard campus and the Fitzsimons 

campus. Adequate infrastructure provides the foundation for the continued 

use and maintenance of the current campus and for the development of the 

new campus at Fitzsimons. Infrastructure upgrades are necessary at the 

Ninth Avenue campus to ensure there are adequate utilities to provide the 

essential education, research and patient care activities until these can be 

moved to the new campus at Fitzsimons. These are also needed to 

maintain the value of the property and establish a sound basis for the 

redevelopment and reuse of the campus once many of the academic, 

research and patient care activities have moved. 


The Master Plan for this site includes the following goals for infrastructure 

and major utility systems: 

• The infrastructure and utility systems will be operated and maintained 

at a high level to ensure the education, research and patient care 

goals are met. 

• The infrastructure will be upgraded on a continual basis to ensure the 

mission continues and that there is an appropriate base for 

redevelopment and reuse of the campus. 

To achieve these goals, the Capital Asset Management Program (CAMP) 

for the campus will be continued and this program will provide a systematic 

approach to protecting the current assets and provide a direction for 

upgrading the systems as required. It is envisioned that the preventive 

maintenance program will continue at its current level of activity and 

funding. Funding and resources will be required at their current levels to 

maintain this program. The UCHSC will also actively pursue State 

controlled maintenance funds for system replacement and upgrades. 

Utilities 

Utilities at the 9 th Avenue campus will be maintained and upgraded to meet 

the mission of the UCHSC while it occupies the campus. They will also be 

upgraded to ensure a sound underpinning for the future redevelopment and 

occupants. All major utility systems required to operate the current campus 

exist at this time. The major systems include: electrical, water, sanitary 

sewer, storm drainage, steam and chilled water and natural gas. In general, 

these systems must be operated, maintained and repaired at the current 

 

V-31



high level and upgraded or replaced as needed to provide the necessary 

services to provide the activities of the campus. 

Because there will be no new buildings built at the campus, large upgrades 

and replacement of utility systems to increase capacity will not be required. 

The current systems and infrastructure are available and have the 

appropriate configuration and capacity to provide the utilities needed for the 

programs. Key in both the short-term and long-term will be the maintenance 

of the systems, the selective upgrade of any “worn out” or deteriorated 

systems or portions of systems, and an investment in various systems to 

address the previous backlog or deferred maintenance issues. It is 

envisioned that as the campus and programs transition to Fitzsimons, the 

utility systems at Ninth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard will be maintained 

to current levels and upgraded to meet these levels. Systems will not be 

allowed to deteriorate or decommissioned but will be operated and 

maintained in a manner that supports full occupancy. 

To achieve this, the current Capital Asset Management Program (CAMP) 

will continue to be followed to direct the maintenance and upgrade of the 

systems. The CAMP is a multi faceted program that includes sub programs 

needed to protect and enhance the physical assets of the campus. The four 

major sub programs are: 

• Facilities Audit. This activity audits or surveys all infrastructure and 

utility systems, determines the condition and capacity, and 

establishes a maintenance, repair and upgrade schedule. 

• Routine Maintenance. This preventive maintenace program is 

responsible for the day-to-day operation, maintenance and repair of 

the systems. It is designed to ensure systems are cared for in a 

systematic manner and do not deteriorate at an accelerated rate. 

There are currently 50 employees assigned to this program and this 

level of resources is expected to continue at this campus until the 

transition is made to the new campus. 

• Controlled Maintenance Request. This program is the annual 

request for State appropriations to upgrade deteriorated or worn out 

pieces of the systems. The UCHSC has been receiving 

approximately $2.25 million per year for the last several years to 

upgrade systems and this is anticipated to continue. 

• Facilities Reserve Fund. This activity includes the establishment of a 

fund annually to upgrade systems and infrastructure on an asneeded 

and emergency basis. 

The current water system has sufficient capacity to serve the needs of the 

campus through the transition period. There are no major new 

 

V-32



programmatic or physical requirements that would dictate new or 

reconfigured lines. The major project for this system will be the installation 

of back-flow prevention and this will be completed by 2000. The current 

level of maintenance and repair will be required. 

The electrical system has sufficient capacity and appropriate configuration 

to meet current and longer term needs. Most major changes to this system 

will occur within the existing buildings to ensure adequate capacity as areas 

are remodeled. One major system need that will be addressed in the next 

2-3 years will be the upgrade and replacement of the Automatic Throw Over 

(ATO) switch in the south west quadrant of the campus. The current switch 

is 30 years old and requires change. A second major upgrade that will be 

required is the replacement of several of the distribution lines between the 

switches and building. The current level of maintenance and repair will be 

required. 

The storm and sanitary sewer systems are of adequate capacity and 

configuration and no major upgrades are envisioned by programmatic or 

physical requirements. The current level of maintenance and repair will be 

required. 

The natural gas system has the capacity to serve the needs. The current 

maintenance and repair program will be required. 

The steam and chilled water systems have the appropriate capacity but 

need upgrade and replacement due to age and deterioration. There are 

several past projects and many new projects anticipated to upgrade the 

central plant boilers, chillers, cooling tower and distribution systems. Costs 

are estimated to be $20 million. The plan is to continue the upgrade of 

these systems during the transition period. 

All infrastructure and utility systems within the buildings will require 

continued maintenance and upgrades. There will be many projects in the 

next few years to upgrade elevators, roof and structural systems, electrical 

panels and wiring, drains heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. 

It is estimated that to upgrade utility and building systems within the current 

buildings over the next 12 years will require $20 million. The funds are 

needed to upgrade and replace deteriorated and old building utility systems 

as they exist but are not needed to meet new building or physical 

requirements. 

It should be noted that if there is an unanticipated major catastrophic failure 

in these systems, major resource investment will be required. 

The telecommunications infrastructure plan has two components: telephony 

and data communications. Each component will be discussed under two 

planning horizons: the short-term and the long-term. The short-term 

 

V-33



planning horizon covers the time from the present to 5 years into the future. 

The period beyond 5 years makes up the long-term planning horizon. The 

plan assumes a relatively rapid move to the Fitzsimons campus. 

The telephony infrastructure at the 9 th Avenue campus is mature and 

approaching obsolescence. The telephone switch is the key component of 

this existing infrastructure. This telephone switch is old by current 

standards, as are the individual telephones it supports. Indeed, many 

modern dialing features are not available because of the switch’s advancing 

age. However, given these inherent deficiencies, this infrastructure will be 

usable for the short-term. It has the capacity and configuration to serve the 

telephonic needs but must be continually maintained and enhanced to 

maintain the capacity. Modest incremental enhancements will be needed to 

ensure this system remains viable and maintainable. It is estimated that 

less than $50,000 per year will be needed to maintain this existing 

infrastructure over the short-term. This amount will allow the replacement of 

hardware and software as needed. Should a major component such as the 

switch fail, additional investment will be necessary. The investment could 

be in a central component or in smaller individual components. 

In the long-term, the telephony infrastructure will require a major overhaul. 

This overhaul will be needed because of both hardware and software 

concerns. The hardware will eventually no longer support the software as 

new features are developed. Additionally, the hardware components will 

become scarce and costly to procure. Over $1 million will be required to 

replace the telephony switch and its 4,000 telephones. 

Data Communications will have a modern, switched data network. Each 

user will have a 10-megabit per second (Mb/s) pathway to the network’s 

core. The core network will form a mesh linked by redundant 155 Mb/s 

pathways. This is a modern communications network: viable, robust, and 

scaleable. Costs associated to maintain and enhance this network in the 

short-term will be minimal. Approximately, it is estimated that $50,000 per 

year will needed to upgrade existing device interfaces to bring the core’s 

speed closer to the user. 

In the long-term, the network will require replacement. No modern data 

network can remain reliable, available, and maintainable beyond 10 years. 

It is estimated over $2 million dollars will be required to upgrade its existing 

network. Additional monies will be needed to replace or upgrade the cable 

infrastructure inside the campus’s many buildings to meet new standards. 

 

V-34



Open Space 

Open space on the campus will remain as is both in the short-term and 

long-term. Because there will be no buildings constructed on this campus 

by the UCHSC and University Hospital and there are no plans for the 

demolition of any existing facilities, the open space and green space areas 

will remain. It is anticipated that these spaces will be maintained in their 

current condition and enhanced where needed. A maintenance program is 

currently in place and will be continued. There are 6 FTEs assigned to 

maintain these areas and these will continue to perform the work in the 

grounds and open space areas. There will be several projects to enhance 

the spaces through additional and/or upgraded landscape. This will include 

trees, shrubs, grass, paving and sidewalk material and flower beds. Areas 

will be along the perimeter of campus next to major roads and residential 

neighborhoods. This work will continue until the transition is made to the 

Fitzsimons campus. 

Circulation and Access 

Circulation and access to the campus will remain as it is currently 

configured. Again, because there will be no new buildings on site and no 

demolition of existing facilities, pedestrian and vehicular access to the 

campus will not be modified. Internal and external circulation modes and 

patterns are also anticipated to remain the same. With the decrease in 

activity, the circulation and access will become less congested and 

friendlier. There are no new requirements to direct a change in these. 

Parking 

Parking at the campus will remain as currently configured. With no new 

buildings and no demolition of facilities, the number of parking spaces, their 

location and their access will remain the same in the short-term and longterm. 

In addition, with the move to Fitzsimons, the long-standing problem of 

insufficient parking spaces on campus will lessen substantially. It is 

envisioned that the approximately 3,600 parking spaces will be adequate to 

meet current and future needs. 

At the present time and in the immediate future, there are sufficent parking 

spaces for patients, visitors, faculty, staff and students. This has been 

achieved because of the move of nearly 500 FTEs from this campus to 

Fitzsimons. There is sufficient and “no-wait” parking for patients and 

visitors. There is no waiting list for faculty and the waiting list for parking for 

staff and students has been reduced from 18 months to less than 9 weeks. 

The pattern of adequate spaces is expected to also continue in the longterm 

and there may be a point in the future as a significant number of 

programs move to Fitzsimons that there will be a surplus of spaces. 

 

V-35



The major impact to this pattern of decreasing demand for parking and a 

stable supply of spaces is when the UCHSC and UH sell peripheral property 

that contain parking spaces. If this occurs, a plan has been developed to 

accommodate this loss of space. This plan indicates that any loss in spaces 

on the periphery of campus can be accommodated within the present 

spaces in the core of the campus. No new facilities will be needed and 

there will be adequate spaces to meet the demand. 

 

V-36



Fitzsimons 

The Fitzsimons campus presents a variety of different issues and 

opportunities regarding infrastructure. Again, substantial infrastructure is 

necessary to construct the proposed build out of the Fitzsimons site. The 

infrastructure and utility systems to be constructed will provide the 

foundation and the physical “underpinnings” for the current and future 

development of the site. Much of the current infrastructure is old and 

deteriorated or does not exist; and, as a result, new or upgraded 

infrastructure is needed. It is envisioned that the new campus will have 

modern, up-to-date, high-tech research, education and health care facilities 

and adequate utility and infrastructure systems are required to support 

these. It is critical that these systems have the capacity to serve both 

immediate and long-term needs. The infrastructure will be constructed in 

phases over a period of years and it is essential the phases be integrated 

with previous phases to ensure continuity and the uninterrupted 

development of the site. 

To achieve the large anticipated build out, major infrastructure and utilities 

construction is needed. Most of the infrastructure in the developed portions 

of the site is 50 to 70 years old and there is little to no infrastructure in the 

undeveloped portions of the site. Current plans are to develop the southern 

area of Fitzsimons for clinical, health care and educational activities and this 

area will require new infrastructure. Development will also occur in the 

central core area and in the northern areas where some current utilities and 

infrastructure exist. However, these utilities and infrastructure are aged, 

deteriorated and more important lack the capacity and the configuration to 

support the UCHSC mission. Replacement and enhancement of most 

systems is necessary. Again, infrastructure will be necessary to support 

approximately 3.5 million square feet of space within the next 12 to 15 years 

and eventually approximately 5 million to 8 million square feet in the next 20 

to 30 years. 

Clearly, the development of the new campus must have a utilities and 

infrastructure plan to provide the foundation for the rest of the physical 

development. It will be the basis for the phased construction of new 

buildings and the remodel of existing facilities. The infrastructure projects in 

proposed phases will be carefully planned to ensure that there is an 

appropriate direction and consistency in infrastructure development that will 

avoid duplication of effort and wasted time and funding. 

 

V-37



The general guidelines and principles utilized in the Master Plan for the 

infrastructure and major systems of the Fitzsimons site are: 

• Using as much of the existing infrastructure as possible for as long as 

possible is necessary. Existing utilities will be utilized and integrated 

into the development on a proactive basis. 

• The construction of the infrastructure and utilities when they are 

needed or in phases to avoid unnecessary construction and 

excessive front end costs. 

• The construction of the total or substantial portions of infrastructure 

systems when the need is substantiated and when the construction 

will avoid excessive future costs. 

• The installation of adaptable infrastructure systems to ensure 

integration with future build-out in a manner which avoids duplication 

of projects and wasted effort and funds. 

• The construction of maintainable systems to minimize future 

operations disruptions. 

• The installation of systems with the longest life expectancy possible. 

• The construction of systems, which minimize energy loss to avoid 

excessive future operating, costs. 

• The integration of systems and specific projects with the Fitzsimons 

Redevelopment Authority Master Plan and with the City of Aurora and 

the Army planning efforts. 

• The installation of systems which maintain the aesthetics of the 

campus. 

In addition to the above, the specific early utility development guidelines 

include: 

• A water supply system including loop configurations is essential to 

the development. Major water supply system and sub systems will 

be installed as quickly as possible. 

• A central heating and chilled water plant(s) is needed for the campus. 

Use of the current heating plant for the foreseeable future will be 

necessary with the possibility of a new heating plant in the future. A 

central chilled water plant is needed immediately because there is no 

centralized chilled water generation at the site. If heating capabilities 

are needed in the future, they can be installed within this plant. The 

 

V-38



co-generation of electrical service may also be feasible and 

necessary within this new plant. 

• A large capacity electrical infrastructure including several levels of 

redundancy will be installed as quickly as possible. This is necessary 

to avoid patient care, educational and research interruption and the 

associated risks. 

• Utility corridors to route the various utilities systems together in a 

logical manner are needed in the early development. 

• New roads and other access facilities will be constructed to support 

the early buildings in the development and anchor portions of the 

infrastructure. 

Water, storm drainage and sanitary sewer will be provided by the City of 

Aurora. The construction, ownership and cost sharing responsibilities of 

each party are detailed in the Intergovernmental Agreement among the City, 

the FRA and the UCHSC. See Appendix D. Natural gas and electricity will 

be provided by vendors, while steam and chilled water will be provided at 

the current plant by vendor or internal UCHSC staff. 

In addition, the UCHSC and UH have developed an Optimum Energy 

Services Strategy (OESS) for Fitzsimons. The goals of this strategy 

include: 1) the provision of utilities at the lowest possible cost; 2) obtain the 

most reliable and dependable sources of utilities and commodities; and, 3) 

coordinate and implement the strategy with the FRA. Principles of the 

OESS are as follows: 

• Steam and chilled water from a central plant will be the most cost 

effective and efficient approach to these utilities. A chilled water plant 

is needed in the initial phases of development. 

• The current heating plant at the site should be utilized until 

approximately 2003. It is estimated that in 2003, the UCHSC will 

require additional steam due to large expansion. To achieve this, use 

of the current heating plant will be terminated and expansion will 

occur in the chilled water plant to be constructed on the UCHSC site. 

• Co-generation of steam and electricity will be actively studied and 

implemented if it proves to be feasible. 

• A large capacity and redundant electrical system will be required at 

Fitzsimons. 

 

V-39



• The purchase of electricity at the wholesale rate is cost effective and 

must be pursued. 

• Natural gas should be purchased at the lowest rate possible. Open 

market purchases should be continued and the feasibility of 

constructing a gas pipeline to Colorado Interstate Gas should be 

studied. 

Utilities 

Steam. The existing steam heating system on the Fitzsimons campus 

consists of a relatively new (1992) central heating plant and a distribution 

system, which is between five and fifty years old. The boiler plant was 

constructed in 1992 and includes the central boiler and auxiliary equipment. 

Capacities and auxiliary equipment are described below. The boilers are 

fired to maintain a 125-128 PSIG steam header pressure in the boiler plant. 

The campus is fed from a 125 PSIG 12” branch steam main and a 6” branch 

condensate return main from the new boiler plant. These lines traverse 

from the plant above ground and are supported on pedestals the old steam 

plant. These are valves and PRV's in the valve room of the old steam plant. 

Steam pressure is reduced and distributed at two pressures from this valve 

room. The lower pressure, labeled the “heating steam system”, is 

distributed at 30 PSIG during peak flow conditions and is manually adjusted 

to lower pressure during lower load conditions. This system is shut off 

during the summer months. The higher pressure system is labeled the 

“process steam system” and is distributed at 60 PSIG. This system runs 

year round and serves domestic water converters, sterilizers, cooking, and 

building heat. Building 500 has two mains, both reported at 60 PSIG, which 

run in the same tunnel. One is used and the other has historically served as 

backup. 

Generally, for the “heating steam”, the isolation valves and pressurereducing 

valves (PRV’s) were replaced in the old steam plant in 1996. The 

condition of the piping, valves, steam powered condensate pumps, steam 

traps, and PRV’s appears to be in generally good condition. It is 

understood, all condensate piping is Schedule 80 weight piping, which is 

considered standard practice. 

In the main steam utility tunnel, which leads south to the hospital, the 

expansion joints have been repaired and/or replaced. New hangers and 

insulation are evident and supports have bee refurbished and reused. 

Numerous areas in the tunnel system will require repair and or replacement 

within the next five years. The main header system at the old central 

heating plant (Bldg. 215) should be replaced to accommodate the capacities 

 

V-40



required for the short-term use by UCSHC. In addition, the condensate 

return system throughout the distribution system must be converted to 

pumped condensate return. The existing pumped and gravity systems have 

been interconnected resulting in ineffective operation of both. 

Several modifications are also required for the existing heating plant. These 

include the following: 

• Add motor controlled steam valves on each boiler 

• Add UPS backup for the boiler control system 

• Implement an electrical coordination study in boiler plant. 

• Add operator interface hardware/software to the boiler control system 

• Relocate burner motor starters to the boiler room MCC. 

• Add manual override switch panel in control room. 

The existing boiler plant includes three, packaged boilers with 60,000 lb/hr 

capacity and one, packaged boiler 30,000 lb/hr boiler. The capacity of the 

plant is 150,000 lb/hr with one boiler (60,000 lb/hr) in standby mode. 

The short-term (5 year) plan provides for the re-use of the existing heating 

plant and distribution system to supply the heating and process heating 

needs for the UCHSC and UH campus. The approach is desirable as it 

provides time for UCHSC to budget, design and construct its own central 

utilities plant within the confines of UCHSC property. Installation of 

individual boiler systems for each UCHSC facility was evaluated and found 

to be cost prohibitive. 

Operation of the plant and distribution system can be provided on a lease 

basis from the FRA. UCSHC will either operate/maintain the plant with 

UCHSC operating personnel or it will subcontract the operation of the plant 

to a third party operator. 

The operating capacity of the existing heating plant approximately matches 

the 5-year requirement of the UCHSC development. At the end of the five 

years, a new central utilities plant will have been developed for the UCHSC 

campus. See below. 

The initial development of the UCHSC campus will be served by steam from 

the existing central heating plant. Program Plans for 1997 and 1998 include 

development of tie-ins to the existing system to serve the heating and 

cooling equipment energy requirements. Direct-buried steam/condensate 

lines located east of Bldg. 500 will connect the initial utility tunnel (1997 

Program Plan) with the steam lines located northwest of Bldg. 500. This 

connection to the first phase of the utility tunnel will provide the interim 

steam supply for the 5-year development (700,000 sf new bldgs) on the 

southwest portion of the campus. 

 

V-41



The second phase of the short-term development will be the creation of a 

central utilities plant on the east end of the UCHSC campus. This plant will 

serve the heating/ cooling/ electrical requirements of the long-term 

development of the campus. The central utilities plant facility will consist of 

three independent equipment/system bays for initial and future development 

– a chiller bay, an electrical distribution bay, and a future boiler/generator 

bay. Each bay will be self-contained for the utility system it contains. The 

boiler bay will include high-pressure boilers, gas-turbine generators and 

auxiliaries. The design of the boiler/generator bay will be expandable to 

provide space for additional boiler/generator capacity, as site needs dictate. 

The short-term (5 year) requirement for high pressure steam is 

approximately 150,000-180,000 #/hr of available boiler capacity. 

The basis of the central steam system long-term plan is the expansion of 

the high pressure steam plant and distribution system initiated under the 

short-term plan. 

The build-out of the steam heating plant will consist of the addition of high 

pressure boilers and/or gas-turbine generators to a total steam plant 

capacity of approximately 350,000 lbs/hr (excluding future non-UCHSC 

loads). Provision of the future non-UCHSC loads will add an additional 

210,000 tons of steam load. The boiler/gas-turbine bay of the central 

utilities plant will be expanded to accommodate this future load as it occurs 

with 70,000 lb/hr increments occurring approximately every five years. 

For a campus of this size, the cogeneration option with gas-turbine 

generators and waste heat steam boilers provides for an optimum energy 

use plant. The total site build-out will accommodate approximately 15-20 

MW of electrical cogeneration with waste heat steam generation of 120,000 

#/hr. Supplemental waste heat boilers (60,000 lb/hr) will be added to the 

existing boiler capacity (150,000-180,000 #/hr) and the waste heat 

generation (120,000 #/hr) to provide to total plant steam capacity 

requirement of 350,000 #/hr. 

The distribution system will also be added in phases as the site 

development dictates. After the short-term build-out, major utility tunnel 

build-outs will be required for the west end of Charlie Kelley Blvd. and for 

the entire length of E. Bushnell Ave. The Bushnell build-out is required to 

allow the development of the Northwest corner of the UCHSC campus. 

The final phase of the steam/condensate distribution system will be the 

connection of the Bushnell Ave. and Charlie Kelly Bldg piping runs. A 

north/south utility tunnel along S. Hutton street will connect the two piping 

runs. 

 

V-42



In addition to the main east/west utility runs, north/south branch utility 

tunnels or direct-buried distribution piping will be installed to major building 

centers. 

Chilled Water. There is no existing central chilled water system on the 

Fitzsimons campus. Bldg. 500 has central chilled water from an in-building 

chiller plant. Several of the smaller, outlying buildings have DX HVAC 

systems space and process cooling. The only system of any size is located 

in the Bldg. 500 and is a relatively new system. The system was installed in 

1990-1992 and is in good condition. The Building 500 central chilled water 

plant was sized to accommodate 4, 300-350 ton chillers. There are 

currently three (3) installed. A fourth is currently being considered to 

accommodate the new cooling requirements due to the renovations in the 

building. 

The Building 500 system will be reused for the short-term cooling 

requirements of Building 500. 

Central chilled water will be the most economical short and long-term 

method of air conditioning the facilities expected to be constructed on the 

campus. 

The central cooling plant would be located on the UCHSC campus on the 

east end of the campus. The new UCHSC central cooling plant would be 

sized to handle the short-term cooling requirements of the UCHSC initial 

new and existing build-out (approximately 1.2-1.5 Msf). The initial cooling 

capacity would be approximately 2,000-5,000 cooling tons. The facility 

housing the chillers would be sized to accommodate the future cooling 

capacity requirements (13,000 to 15,000 tons) of the UCHSC and UH 

buildup. 

The chilled water distribution from the new central cooling plant to the Shortterm 

development area will consist of chilled water supply/return piping 

located in a new utility tunnel running west from the new central plant. The 

chilled water distribution system will be variable volume and will be one of 

the secondary loops of the central primary/secondary CHW distribution 

system. 

The Central Utilities Plant facility will consist of three independent 

equipment/system bays for initial and future development – a chiller bay, an 

electrical distribution bay, and a boiler/generator bay. The design of the 

chiller bay will be expandable to provide space for additional chiller capacity, 

as site needs dictate. The cooling towers for the central chiller plant will be 

located east if the plant building. 

 

V-43



The electrical bay will house the main facility electrical switchgear and 

electrical distribution panels. The site electrical loops will be served from 

this location. 

The basis of the chilled water system long-term plan is the expansion of the 

chilled water plant and the chilled water distribution system initiated under 

the short-term plan. 

The build-out of the chilled water plant will consists of the addition of 2-stage 

steam absorption chillers and/or electric drive centrifugal chillers to a total 

chiller plant capacity of approximately 15,000 tons (excluding future non- 

UCHSC loads). Provision of the future non-UCHSC loads will add an 

additional 8,000 tons of cooling. The addition of chillers and cooling towers 

will occur in 1,500-2,000 ton increments to match available equipment 

capacities. The chiller bay of the central utilities plant will be expanded to 

accommodate this future load as it occurs with 3,000 ton increments 

occurring every five years over years six through twenty. 

The distribution system will also be added in phases as the site 

development dictates. After the short-term build-out, major utility tunnel 

build-outs will be required for the west end of Charlie Kelley Blvd. And for 

the entire length of E. Bushnell Ave. The Bushnell build-out is required to 

allow the development of the Northwest corner of the UCHSC campus. 

The final phase of the chilled water distribution system will be the 

connection of the Bushnell Ave. and Charlie Kelly Bldg piping runs. A 

north/south utility tunnel along S. Hutton street will connect the two piping 

runs. 

In addition to the main east/west utility runs, north/south branch utility 

tunnels or direct-buried distribution piping will be installed to major building 

centers. 

The anticipated pumping system will be primary/secondary for the chiller 

plant and distribution system. Tertiary pumps stations will be installed in 

each building for distribution flow in the building. 

The chilled water needs of the “Future Affiliates” can be provided by a 

separate chilled water loop connected directly to the chilled water plant. 

The proximity of this development area allows for a separate loop to be 

installed at some future date. A separate loop allows for independent 

operation and metering of the chilled water use for non-UCHSC affiliates. 

Natural Gas. Natural gas is provided to the Fitzsimons site through two 

main metering points located on the west side of the site along Peoria 

Street. The main metering point (Metering Point #1) is located at the 

intersection of Peoria and West Harlow Ave. Natural gas is fed from the 

 

V-44



PSCo mains at 100 psig) and reduced in pressure to 33 psig for on-site 

distribution. The main 8 in buried distribution line is a 40 plus years old. It 

runs from the site entry point under the golf course north east to Bldg 133 

and then east to the old central steam plant. Various taps are made to this 

main gas line, including a new 6 in main to the new Central Utility Plant. 

Several distribution mains run from the old central plant location, including a 

4 in line to the south central area of the site. Building 500 is served from 

this 4 in line. A relatively recent addition to the central gas system was 

installed in the early 1990s. It consists of a 4 in line originating from the 

southeast corner of Building 500, running south to the south east of the 

parking lots. The line T’s with a 4 in branch to the 700 area and a 3 in 

branch to the 600 and 800 areas. This new system is coated and wrapped 

steel. The original 8 in and 4 in lines are bare steel and bare cast iron. 

A second 4 in supply line (Metering Point #2) feeds the southwest housing 

area on the site. This main is approximately 40 years old and supplies gas 

at 10 psig to the area. This line is independent from the 33 psig line 

although a normally closed crossover connection exists between the two 

systems. 

The condition of the natural gas distribution system is varied as it includes 

relatively new piping as well as 40 year old piping. The entire system is 

protected by a cathodic protection system, which was installed and/or 

upgraded within the past 10 years. The newer sections of the system 

typically are fabricated of coated and wrapped steel. The older sections of 

the system are typically bare steel or bare cast iron. 

The short-term plan for the UCSHC development will require the reuse of 

sections of the natural gas distribution system. The UCSHC and UH will 

acquire the use of this system through a lease with the FRA. The actual 

operation/maintenance of this distribution system will be by UCSHC O+M 

staff or by subcontract to a third party. 

The second metering location (Metering Point #2) will be discontinued by 

UCHSC. 

A new natural gas main from Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) is a 

possibility for a new gas service to the new central utilities plant. The new 

2.2-mile gas line would provide the UCHSC/Fitzsimons site with a new highpressure 

(300-psig+) gas service for immediate and future gas needs. The 

4” gas line would be direct buried on the UCHSC campus site as well as 

from the site to the CIG gas connection. Utility easements will be required 

for offsite routing. New pressure regulation will be required at the existing 

heating plant to reduce the gas supply pressure from 300+psig to the 

30+psig pressure needed in the plant. 

 

V-45



The on-site gas distribution system will consist of new direct-buried gas 

mains and branches to the individual buildings, which require natural gas 

service. The routing will follow the proposed routing of the steam/CHW 

utility tunnels. 

The new gas service offers significant savings to UCHSC by reducing the 

distribution costs of the gas supply. The other gas service options include 

utilizing the existing Public Service Company of Colorado system to the site. 

The development of the long-term natural gas distribution system will 

parallel the development of the chilled water and steam systems 

distribution. The natural gas distribution will be direct buried in close 

proximity to the central utilities tunnels. 

The long-term requirements for natural gas on the site are undefined. 

However, with the availability of central steam and chilled water, the 

requirement for natural gas at the building level is moderate, typically for lab 

use, process/clean steam generation or for medical equipment purposes. 

An extensive gas distribution system on the site is not anticipated. 

Electrical. Two (2) main 15 kV feeders from PSCo-East and Havana 

Substations supply the existing FAMC site. One feeder is considered the 

primary source of power for the site and the other feeder is operated as a 

back up. The feeders enter the site on the North and East portion of the site 

and enter the existing heating plant via underground duct banks. One 

feeder supplies normal power to the site. The other feeder is supplied by an 

automatic throw over (ATO) switch and provides additional reliability for the 

critical facilities on the site. 

The two feeders supply site main switchgear, which is located in the existing 

heating plant. Four (4) feeders supply the campus from the main 

switchgear. Two (2) of the feeders, C13 and C14, supply normal power to 

the site. Feeders C11 and C12 are fed from PSCo’s (ATO) switch and 

supply Bldg. 500. The feeders leave the heating plant via underground duct 

banks and supply the building transformers from both underground circuits 

and overhead lines. Feeder C11 feeds Building 500 and some of the other 

building in the same vicinity. Feeder C12 feeds Building 500 and many of 

the buildings located along Bushnell Avenue. Feeder C13 feeds primarily 

the buildings on the West Side of the campus and feeder C14 feeds 

primarily the buildings on the East Side of the campus. The primary 

distribution voltage for the site is 13.2 kV 

Emergency power is not distributed throughout the site. Two diesel 

powered 600 kVA generators supply emergency power for Building 500. 

The original electrical distribution system voltage on the site was 4.16 kV. 

In 1988 -1991 the entire system was re-built in order to increase the system 

 

V-46



operating voltage to 13.2 kV. This conversion resulted in the replacement of 

all the existing underground distribution circuits, the building transformers, 

and required all of the overhead lines to be re-built. Consequentially, the 

electrical distribution system is only seven years old and, overall, is in good 

condition. The main switchgear was replaced recently and is approximately 

four years old. Typical life for a electrical distribution system is 

approximately 40 - 50 years. 

The capacity of the incoming feeders from PSCo is approximately 15 MVA. 

The four (4) feeders leaving the main switchgear can supply the site with 

approximately 200 A or 4.6 MVA each or a total of approximately 14 MVA. 

The existing peak demand, according to site personnel, is roughly 7.5 MVA. 

Typical load estimates for the type of buildings planned is based on 10 

W/sq. ft. Using these numbers for a rough approximation results in a 

system capacity capable of serving approximately 1.4 million square feet of 

facilities. 

The planned building types include clinical, research, administrative, and 

educational facilities. These types of facilities require a high level of 

electrical service reliability. The existing UCHSC campus is served by an 

ATO switch, which provides redundancy for the entire site. The existing 

campus also has limited generation capability, which also increases the 

system reliability. Only feeders C11 and C12 meet UCHSC requirements 

for electrical reliability. 

A second consideration in re-using the existing distribution system is its 

location. Since the main switchgear is located in the existing heating plant, 

issues such as plant ownership and right of way may make re-use of the 

existing system difficult or impossible. 

Various electrical distribution system configuration have been reviewed to 

determine the system, which best meets the requirements of the UCHSC. 

These configurations included expanded radial, primary selective, primary 

loop, and secondary selective system configurations. Based upon the 

UCHSC reliability requirements and economic considerations the best 

alternative is the primary loop configuration. 

The short-term system will consist of switchgear, two (2) main feeders from 

PSCo, distribution feeder breakers, concrete encased duct banks, 

manholes, and pad mounted gear. The new switchgear will be located in 

the existing heating plant and will be rated 13.2 kV, 3000 A to meet the build 

out of approximately 3.5 Msf. The PSCo main feeders will be rated at 

approximately 30-35 MW. The two main breakers and the transfer breaker 

will be controlled by an ATO scheme. Two underground feeders from PSCo 

will supply power to the main switchgear. 

 

V-47



The main switchgear will supply the feeder breakers. The distribution 

system will be looped so two (2) feeder breakers will be required for each 

loop. The campus will be divided into areas based on functions. Two (2) 

circuits in a looped configuration will then feed the building groups. Building 

transformers will be fed by pad mounted gear configured as indicated. The 

electrical duct banks will follow the pipe routing as much as practical. The 

duct banks will consist of concrete encased 6” conduits and will include 

manholes as required. 

To meet the requirements for the short-term development, such as the 

Cancer Center and the Eye Clinic, the existing electrical system will be 

utilized. This decision is based on time considerations and present funding. 

Circuits C11 and C12 will be extended from Building 500 to the new 

buildings. This extension will be designed such that it meets the objectives 

of the master plan and the long-term build out. 

To serve the initial development a main duct bank will be required from the 

existing boiler plant to the initial development zone. A duct bank consisting 

of concrete encased 6” conduits and manholes will be installed adjacent to 

utility tunnel, which will run along Charlie Kelly Boulevard. Additional 

electrical distribution systems will be required internal to the initial 

development zone and will be based upon the future site layout. The 

internal distribution system will consist of duct bank, manholes, and pad 

mounted switches to interconnect building transformers. The new 

distribution system will interconnect to the power feed for the immediate 

build out. Fitzsimons existing electrical system will be utilized to feed 

building loads. 

Phase II will be installed in conjunction with the new UCHSC Central Utilities 

Plant (CUP). Two new feeders from PSCo will be brought into the boiler 

plant to feed the new switchgear. The switchgear will be installed in a 

primary loop configuration. Duct bank will be installed from the CUP 

electrical room to the duct bank installed in Phase I. The Fitzsimons 

electrical system will be removed and all loads will be fed from the new 

switchgear. Building 500 will be re-fed from the new system and 

disconnected from the Fitzsimons system. Additional duct bank, manholes, 

and pad-mounted switches will be required to feed any additional buildings. 

 

V-48



Water Supply System. Water supply historically provided to the Fitzsimons 

Army Medical Base has been provided by the Denver Water Board. This 

supply is characterized by low available pressure. Currently, the supply is 

being transferred to the City Of Aurora. The Aurora supply increases the 

pressure available to the UCHSC by approximately 60 pounds per square 

inch. This provides a significant improvement to the systems capability and 

flow rate capacity. 

The overall water supply for the UCHSC is provided by the existing and 

well-established systems of the City of Aurora. The water supply is 

generated from a combination of underground reservoirs and surface 

renewable reservoirs. All of the City’s water supply is treated to the levels 

of purity required by Federal and State law. Cross-connection and backflow 

prevention measures are extensively employed and maintained 

throughout the City to prevent point source contamination. 

The existing water system within the campus area is reusable to a partial 

extent. The existing major trunk lines along the north and east sides of 

campus, as well as the Building 500 loop, are capable of providing longterm 

benefit. A portion of the existing secondary supply loops may also be 

utilized, but conflicts with the planned development and other programmed 

utilities may also result in replacement. Portions of the old Fitzsimons water 

distribution are undersized for the type of facilities to be provided for the 

UCHSC. These pipelines may be reused for short-term, limited needs, but 

will eventually be replaced. Much of the southern portion of the UCHSC site 

currently has no water distribution, and new water loops are required. 

The Army has been steadily identifying sections of the water system that are 

leaking or otherwise require unusual maintenance. Over the past five years, 

these problem areas have been programmed for correction or replacement. 

Only a portion of that planned corrective work has been accomplished, 

leaving some of the piping sections substandard. These sections will 

require replacement or abandonment prior to being subjected to the higher 

pressures of the City Of Aurora supply. Isolation valves are well organized 

on the existing system, which will help in this effort. The increased pressure 

from the new water supply will also create a need to regulate the pressure 

to some segments of the existing distribution system in order not to 

overpressure the building systems served. 

The existing system is not adequate to provide the full fire protection 

demands of the Army Base, and much less capable of providing the 

demand flows of the planned Health Sciences Center. The shortage is due 

to a combination of undersized mains and a lack of adequate loops in the 

system. 

 

V-49



The short-term (5 year) plan provides for the re-use of water distribution 

lines surrounding Building 500, the mains in Bushnell Avenue, and the 

mains in Van Valzah Street. These mains are also to be re-used for the 

long-term development with some improvement and relocation to conform to 

the Master Plan. A portion of the secondary water loops will also be re-used 

for the short-term, where initial development is limited, and the lines do not 

conflict. This is primarily true in the northeast quadrant of the campus 

where the short-term facilities are sparsely located. Re-use of these 

systems is made possible by the incorporation of a primary main located 

along Charlie Kelly Boulevard during the first phase of construction. 

The initial short-term phase of the water system construction provides the 

campus with the primary distribution loop serving the entire campus, and 

secondary loops for the development of the UCHSC in the southwest 

quadrant of the campus. These primary and secondary loops provide the 

domestic and fire water service requirements of each of the new facilities 

over the short-term development, as well as improving water service to the 

existing buildings identified to remain. 

During the short-term period, the sparsely located facilities in the northeast 

quadrant will continue to rely on the existing water system available within 

that area. Isolated improvements to the water system will be provided only 

as necessary to provide individual building needs on a case by case basis. 

The construction of the primary main described above provides the source 

for these existing secondary loops, and provides additional capability. This 

increases the re-use potential. 

The basis of the water supply system long-term plan is the expansion of the 

primary and secondary water mains initiated under the short-term plan, 

along with the re-use of the existing water system to the extent possible. 

The configuration of the UCHSC water distribution system is a logical 

network of primary loops, secondary loops and individual services. The 

onsite water supply of the UCHSC campus and the northern portion of the 

Fitzsimons land is supported by five connections to the City of Aurora water 

mains. The use of multiple connections to the Aurora mains optimizes the 

system capability and reliability. 

Installation of the water supply system is master planned to comply with the 

facilities and roadways master planning. In addition, it is planned for 

coordinated relationships to the other underground utilities such as sanitary 

sewer, storm sewer, electrical duct banks and steam tunnels. Each is 

programmed to be installed in unison along dedicated utility corridors, or to 

avoid interference by taking non-conflicting routes. 

 

V-50



Phased construction of the water system, planned in association with the 

facilities development, provides for optimization of short-term resources, 

while master planning of the long-term build-out assures the overall system 

capabilities. Each phase of development requires portions of the trunk lines 

to create adequate supply loops to protect the property during fire situations. 

As the development of the UCHSC continues to extend beyond the 

southwest quadrant to the northwest and northeast quadrant, additional 

secondary water system loops are extended from the primary water loop 

provided initially. The capacity of the primary loop, in conjunction with the 

improvements provided by other developers in the north half of Fitzsimons, 

is adequate to serve the planned development. As each area is developed, 

the new secondary loops replace the aged and undersized distribution lines 

that exist. 

The long-term development of the southeast quadrant of the UCHSC 

campus is anticipated to include approximately 3 million square feet of 

additional building floor area. As this area develops, additional provisions 

for water service will have to be developed to support the increased 

demands. Replacement of the existing water main in Colfax Avenue by the 

City Of Aurora is expected to be required by this time. This is anticipated 

not only for the UCHSC, but also for the anticipated growth of businesses 

along Colfax. The City already has larger mains in Colfax east of this site 

and in Peoria Street to the west. The future interconnection of these two 

larger lines is a logical development of the City’s system. In conjunction 

with the City’s main improvements, the UCHSC can provide for the 

additional demands by extending the primary water main loop through the 

southeast quadrant. These extensions are connected to the City’s enlarged 

Colfax main at least one additional point. With these improvements, the 

planned development of the southeast quadrant should be adequately 

provided with domestic, fire protection and irrigation water supply. 

. 

 

V-51



Sanitary Sewer Collection System. Sanitary sewer collection and treatment 

historically have been provided by the Fitzsimons Army Medical Base. As 

part of the overall redevelopment plan, all of the Fitzsimons property is to be 

served by a Joint Water Reuse Plan between the Metro Wastewater and 

Reclamation District and the City of Aurora. The City of Aurora has a 42" 

sanitary interceptor line that will provide the outfall of the sanitary collection 

lines from the Fitzsimons property. All discharges from the UCHSC campus 

are eventually transferred to, and treated by, the Metro Wastewater 

Reclamation District. The District operates fully licensed, permitted and 

monitored collection and treatment facilities. 

Many of the existing sewers are at less than 0.4 % slope, and are 

constructed of clay pipe, which is not consistent with current City of Aurora 

Standards. The existing lines throughout the majority of the planned 

UCHSC campus area have historically been maintenance problems for the 

Department of the Army during their operation of Fitzsimons. The age of 

the material and the lack of adequate slope of the pipelines creates a 

significant amount of plugging and system backups. 

The existing system is not adequate to provide the full capability to serve 

the demands of the planned Health Sciences Center. The shortage is due 

to a combination of undersized mains and a lack of adequate slope in the 

system. Some of the newer mains north of Building 500 will be adequate to 

serve short-term development, and will be employed. Further development 

will require extensive upgrades throughout the campus as well as to the 

offsite outfall lines to the north to provide adequate capacity. 

The short-term (5-year) plan provides for the re-use of one primary collector 

line north of Building 500, on a temporary basis, to serve the development 

of first few UCHSC facilities. Before additional short-term buildings are 

constructed, this primary collector is also replaced. Short- term 

development of the UCHSC campus in the northeast quadrant generates a 

low demand for sanitary sewer capacity. Initial facilities take advantage of 

re-use of the existing systems to the extent possible. 

The initial short-term phase of the sanitary sewer collection system 

construction provides the central portion of the campus with the primary 

collection main and secondary lines with capacity for only a few buildings. 

The overall short-term development of the UCHSC campus is provided with 

sanitary sewer collection service by a new primary main which outfalls to an 

existing main in Harlow Avenue north of the Building 500. Secondary mains 

will be extended throughout the eastern and central portions of the 

southwest quadrant. Additionally, the routing of this system allows for some 

development to also occur in the eastern portion of the campus’ northwest 

quadrant. 

 

V-52



Short-term development of the UCHSC campus in the northeast quadrant 

generates a low demand for sanitary sewer capacity. Initial facilities take 

advantage of re-use of the existing systems to the extent possible. Isolated 

improvements to the sanitary sewer collection system will be provided only 

as necessary to provide individual building needs on a case by case basis. 

In the long-term, the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center campus 

sanitary sewer collection system is a logical network of primary collectors, 

secondary collectors and individual services. The onsite collection system 

of the campus outfalls to three mains provided by the Fitzsimons 

Redevelopment Authority in the northern portion of Fitzsimons. These three 

FRA mains eventually carry the flows to the interceptor line in Sand Creek 

to the north. 

Installation of the sanitary sewer collection system is master planned to 

comply with the facilities and roadways master planning. In addition, it is 

planned for coordinated relationships to the other underground utilities such 

as water distribution, storm sewer, electrical duct banks and steam tunnels. 

Each is programmed to be installed in unison along dedicated utility 

corridors, or to avoid interference by taking non-conflicting routes. Each 

facility connecting to the collector system provides control over their 

discharge to verify that only domestic class wastewater is conveyed. 

Phased construction of the sanitary sewer collection system, planned in 

association with the facilities development, provides for optimization of 

short-term resources, while master planning of the long-term build out 

assures the overall system capabilities. The phasing of development of the 

FRA property to the north of the UCHSC is important due to the reliance on 

their outfall systems. Initial phasing is directed at utilizing outfall locations, 

which are not dependent on participation by other developers. Each phase 

of development will require that portions of the trunk lines be constructed to 

create adequate collection for the campus. 

As development expands to the western portions of the southwest and 

northwest quadrants, an additional main routed along the western side of 

the campus provides the remaining collection capacity. This main requires 

coordination with the development of one of the planned sanitary sewer 

outfalls by the FRA. 

As development continues in the northeast quadrant, the new primary 

sanitary sewer collector for this area is constructed along with the 

secondary collector mains throughout. Installation of a sanitary sewer 

outfall planned by the FRA, again must be coordinated to support build-out 

of this quadrant. 

 

V-53



Completion of the collection systems within the southwest, northwest and 

northeast quadrants of the UCHSC, along with the development of the 

outfalls by FRA, will allow the build-out of the campus to approximately 5 

million square feet of floor area. 

The long-term development of the southeast quadrant of the UCHSC 

campus is anticipated to include approximately 3 million square feet of 

additional building floor area. As this area develops, additional provisions 

for sanitary sewer collection and outfall will have to be constructed to 

support the increased demands. The restrictions of available capacity 

downstream of the UCHSC campus and the lack of elevational rise across 

the Fitzsimons land create the need to develop a fourth outfall point. This 

fourth outfall will be routed to the east along Colfax Avenue. In sizing this 

outfall, the City Of Aurora considerations of the anticipated development of 

businesses along Colfax must be considered as well. This outfall main will 

also discharge to the 42 inch interceptor as it extends south through Toll 

Gate Creek. In conjunction with the City’s main improvements, the UCHSC 

provides for the additional demands by extending sanitary sewer collectors 

through the southeast quadrant. These extensions are connected to the 

City’s new Colfax main. 

 

V-54



Storm Drainage System. The site has two major drainage ways 

immediately available for discharging storm water runoff. Sand Creek to the 

north and Toll Gate Creek to the east. The City of Aurora has been recently 

performing improvements to both creeks to increase their performance 

during major storm events. Storm water runoff is routed to two outfalls north 

of the campus to Sand Creek, and one to the east to Toll Gate Creek. Due 

to the relative proximity of these two major floodway creeks, the City Of 

Aurora has determined that the Fitzsimons property is not required to 

provide detention. 

The existing onsite storm sewer components are apparently sized to handle 

minor storm runoff conditions. During major storm events, the runoff water 

is currently allowed to drain across the large, open, grassed areas 

throughout the site. Eventually this water will drain off through the small 

storm sewer system or be eliminated by ground absorption and evaporation. 

Development of the UCHSC campus, although providing a significant 

amount of landscaped area, will not have sufficient open space to allow the 

continuation of this type of drainage. The existing lines throughout the 

majority of the planned UCHSC campus area are undersized for 

consideration of the UCHSC campus. Condition of the system and 

maintenance requirements is not a concern as a new system must be 

provided. In addition, capacity of the existing onsite system is limited to a 

very minor storm event. In any moderate or major storm event, site flooding 

will occur. 

The first one or two buildings constructed as part of the UCHSC can take 

advantage of the large undeveloped grassed areas to dissipate the storm 

water runoff. All additional development will require the establishment of 

new storm drainage systems to prevent nuisance flooding. Impact of the 

first few buildings will result in minimal impact to the runoff rates and 

conditions within the immediate area, and therefore can rely on the existing 

system for drainage. 

As development of the short-term planned facilities continues, new drainage 

systems are required. For the extent of the short-term facilities, three 

separate collection systems and outfalls are required. Immediately 

surrounding the buildings, surface drainage and grass lined swales are 

employed to the maximum extent possible to reduce overall runoff and to 

increase water quality. No onsite detention will be provided beyond the 

linear detention provided by these swales. In order to prevent excessive 

accumulation of water and to work around the adverse grades available on 

the surface, storm sewer collection systems will be required to intercept the 

flows as they cross the streets. 

 

V-55



Development of the facilities within the northeast quadrant requires the 

construction of the storm sewer collection system along Charlie Kelly 

Boulevard. This system extends to the east and ties into the existing outfall 

and discharge to Toll Gate Creek. 

The facilities constructed within the southwest and northwest quadrants of 

the campus will drain via local storm sewers to the planned drainage way 

bisecting the campus to the west of these facilities. This requires the 

development of this natural drainage way, not only through the UCHSC 

campus, but also through the FRA development area in order to support 

short-term programs. 

In the long-term development, the University of Colorado Health Sciences 

Center campus storm drainage system is a network of surface drainage, 

grass lined swales and storm sewers. Surface drainage and grass lined 

swales are utilized to the maximum extent possible within the first sections 

of the storm water runoff route. Surface drainage should be used near all of 

the buildings provided that the flows will not generate undesirable flow 

conditions for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and that excessive potential 

for ice formation is not created. If these potential conditions exist, storm 

sewer will be installed. 

The roadways will be provided with drainage swales paralleling them. As 

much flow as possible is directed into these swales where slow velocities 

provide an opportunity for effective linear detention and water quality 

treatment through biofiltration. These swales represent the extent of 

detention and water quality best management practices to be employed on 

the campus. 

The flat surface grades of the site force the interception of these flows 

periodically throughout the site. Storm sewers will be constructed to provide 

interception within each quadrant of the campus. The southeast quadrant 

and the southern portion of the northeast quadrant outfall to the Charlie 

Kelly storm sewer main that discharges to the east to Toll Gate Creek. The 

northern portion of the northeast quadrant is collected and discharged to an 

FRA outfall main at Building 500 is intercepted by a storm sewer system 

which also discharges to an FRA outfall main on Bushnell north of the 

Building 500. The entire eastern portion of the site will drain through swales 

and storm sewers to the planned drainage way cutting through the eastern 

section of the campus. All of the outfalls with the exception of the Toll Gate 

Creek outfall require close coordination with the development of the 

downstream systems of the FRA in order to function appropriately. 

 

V-56



Telecommunications 

As site planning proceeds in the future for relocation of UCHSC and UH 

constituents who currently reside on the main campus location, sufficient 

telecommunications infrastructure must be in place to accommodate growth 

at the Fitzsimons. Adequate infrastructure to meet the needs of the 

relocations and growth is currently being planned to meet long-term 

requirements of the new location. The planning has identified the need for a 

secure telecommunications infrastructure that will provide sufficient 

communications transport bandwidth to all buildings, equipment and end 

users. A key element in the design of telecommunications is the provision 

for automatic recovery and business continuance in the event of a service 

interruption. As relocation occurs, it is essential that the infrastructure is in 

place and available for use prior to and during major construction and 

addition of new facilities. 

Infrastructure planning and budgeting is the single most important effort 

required for successful development of new telecommunications facilities at 

Fitzsimons. Aggressive strategic/tactical planning and development of 

telecommunications infrastructure will avoid short-term facility exhaustion 

and address long-term incremental reconstruction over time. Therefore, 

these issues are being addressed as part of Phase II planning. 

In conjunction with current and future Master Planning for Fitzsimons, a 

proposed site plan was provided to UCHSC and UH information systems 

(IS) departments that describes the future planned utilities corridors for 

routing facilities for utilities and services. This site plan on the next page 

encompasses a rectangular area of approximately 4,000 feet on the east 

and west boundaries and approximately 2,000 feet on the north and south 

boundaries. As the site plan indicates, the overall site planning will be 

based on design of specific utility service corridors as a primary architecture 

strategy. This strategy is consistent with future site preparations using 

state-of- the-art communications infrastructure. 

This project will install concrete encased ductbanks and cable vaults for 

fiber optic and copper media. These will be installed based upon the plan 

schematic diagram depicted in the drawing on the next page. The design of 

the infrastructure is intended to meet immediate needs and provide 

adequate capacity for anticipated growth and flexibility to handle a number 

of different alternate development scenarios. 

Project components include: 

• Excavation of pavement and soil to prepare the site for deploying 

underground communications infrastructure. 

 

V-57



• Concrete encased duct banks are pre-fabricated concrete slabs that 

have been formed around conduit to provide a highly secure 

underground pathway for communications media. The duct banks 

will typically contain eight four-inch conduits and comprise a total of 

24,000 linear feet. 

• Pulling vaults are necessary for providing access to the underground 

media assets and to allow for incremental addition of media. The 

pulling vaults will be placed every 500 to 600 feet. 

• Fiber optic media provides the high-speed communications pathway 

for voice and data communications to traverse the site. It is 

estimated that the site will require 100,000 linear feet of fiber optic 

cable. 

• Copper media will be used for delivery of voice communications and 

low speed data services. It is estimated that the site will require 

200,000 linear feet of twisted pair copper wiring. 

The system characteristics are described below. The pictorial depiction of a 

self-healing ring communication infrastructure shown in Drawing T-2 is 

designed to be in harmony with future projected growth patterns of 

Fitzsimons. 

Quadrant 1 is planned as part of the Master Plan Phase II effort. The ring 

topology design is planned as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) 

transport for Quadrant 1, 2, 3 and 4 with an interface to the Public Switched 

Network (PSN) at a higher bandwidth on a Transport Ring. 

Possible future alternate service entrances for PSN carriers may be 

considered for the Harlow Avenue entrance to the site. 

In a typical quadrant, numerous buildings may be constructed and require 

the services for diverse communications protocols. Bandwidth requirements 

may range from slow speed communications to high speed T1s, Ethernet or 

ATM. Shown for planning purposes, typical interfaces to ring topology are 

node designations. If there are four buildings, two methods could be 

employed to connect nodes. Each node could be attached to each other in 

a ring or a building could be connected separately using a diverse route with 

dual entry/exit services. 

It is planned to time construction and align design whenever possible to 

coincide with other utility construction including roads, power, sewer, gas, 

and wastewater. 

The present point of intersection is Building 500. Adequate entrance duct 

for present and future expansion was provided at Building 500 as a part of 

 

V-58



the Phase I planning in the Master Plan. It is anticipated that construction of 

a new communications center to become the central point of aggregation for 

all facility electronics will be required in the future. 

Redundancy and fault tolerance requirements will be met by constructing a 

Self-Healing Ring topology for a backbone network. To achieve redundancy 

and fault tolerance for communications, each building will have two 

physically separate service entrances connecting to a Self-Healing Ring. 

Multiplexing each node to achieve bi-directional communications between 

nodes will provide inter-nodal drop and insert capabilities. 

Providing for high bandwidth across the Transport Network to the PSN 

using speeds greater than ATM will allow flexibility in the future for operating 

in a Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) environment. 

Building design for telecommunications rooms and distribution should follow 

TIA-568, TIA-569 and TIA-607 standards. Electronic equipment should be 

kept at a constant temperature that would be a comfortable office 

temperature. Backup power sources are needed at nodes. Room size 

requirements are also greater than in the past because of the tendency to fill 

them with equipment. 

 

V-59



Open Space 

Open spaces on and around the existing site are extremely varied, from 

agrarian fields to parade grounds, soccer fields to traditional park settings, 

vast open areas to intimate spaces. In addition, Tollgate Creek on the east, 

and Sand Creek to the north, are extensive areas of native vegetation. 

Toward the southwest lies a city park containing the historic gateway to the 

former Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC). 

As the growth of the health sciences complex occurs, the system of open 

spaces envisioned by the master plan will provide a fundamental framework 

for the development of the campus. In the first five years, the placement of 

ambulatory care, research and educational facilities, along with Building 

500, will begin to form two of the primary open spaces: 1) a commons which 

will extend from the clinical zone through the research area to the 

bioscience park to the north, and 2) the major east/west pedestrian way to 

be developed along the existing alignment of Charlie Kelly Boulevard. 

Sharon A. Lane Drive, to be preserved as an historic view corridor, will gain 

additional importance as the primary access to the first phase development 

in the clinical zone. 

The existing stands of mature trees along Sharon A. Lane Drive and Charlie 

Kelly Boulevard will significantly enhance the quality and character of these 

initial spaces. Elsewhere on the site, mature specimen trees anchor 

existing spaces and contribute to the park-like quality of much of the site. 

Unfortunately, some of the individual trees are diseased and a program of 

replacement may need to be undertaken immediately to ensure that the 

beauty of the site and landscaping are preserved and enhanced. 

One of the goals of the development of the open spaces in the short-term is 

to create a sense of 'campus', a feeling of 'place', that begins to reflect the 

goals of a unifying and healing environment. The long range objectives 

include the development of a series of diverse spaces that respond to a set 

of defined needs and purposes. These spaces include large open spaces 

typically defined as a campus green or commons, courtyards of varying 

sizes, and even gardens and atria that are associated with individual 

buildings, which together provide enormous opportunities to create a broad 

range of memorable places and experiences. As the campus evolves, 

these spaces from casual to ceremonial are destined to embrace the 

emerging traditions of this new center of health sciences education and 

practice. 

Circulation and Access 

The site of the new Fitzsimons campus is well situated within the Denver 

metropolitan freeway system. Access from Interstate-70, located about 2 

miles north of the site, is via Peoria Street. Access from Interstate 225, 

 

V-60



located directly east of the site, is via Colfax Avenue. The intersection of 

Interstates 70 and 225 occurs approximately two miles north and east of the 

site. Colfax Avenue, which forms the southern boundary of the campus, 

carries a state highway designation, and connects the site with Denver’s 

central business district and extends from the western to the eastern 

reaches of the metro area. Travel to the Boulder campus by freeway takes 

approximately 40 minutes. 

Freeway access to Denver International Airport is excellent, with an average 

travel time of 20 minutes. Travel from the site to the existing UCHSC 

campus takes approximately 15 to 20 minutes. An inter-campus shuttle 

system currently operates on a 30-minute departure/arrival interval. 

Vehicular Access. Two main vehicular entrances currently serve the site. 

The 'signature' approach is via Sharon A. Lane Drive, entering the site from 

the south at a signalized intersection at Colfax Avenue. A second major 

entry to the site is at Harlow (the extension of Montview Avenue) from 

Peoria Street. 

Although much of the site is undeveloped, the Fitzsimons site currently has 

approximately 15 miles of internal streets, configured in an irregular network 

of discontinuous roadways and surface parking areas which carve the site 

into a series of small parcels. The majority of the streets within the site are 

two lanes ranging in width from 24 to 48 feet. Parking is permitted on many 

of the existing roads. 

Over the next five years, the current roadway system is adequate to meet 

most of the demands of the campus. But, as the campus at Fitzsimons 

develops, additional roadways will be required to handle the increased 

volume of vehicular traffic, and new or improved vehicular entrances will 

need to be developed to disperse traffic and maintain volumes at various 

intersections around the campus at acceptable levels 

Under the master plan, a loop road surrounding the core elements of the 

campus is proposed to provide for on-campus vehicular circulation without 

the use of adjacent public streets. Seventeenth Avenue is envisioned as a 

combined vehicular and pedestrian way connecting the eastern and western 

portions of the campus, with an extension to Peoria Street to provide an 

additional point of access to the main part of the campus. It is also 

anticipated that this street will be the primary route to the future in-patient 

hospital for emergency vehicles. Sharon A. Lane Drive, which provides 

direct access to both the loop road and Seventeenth Avenue, will continue 

to serve as the 'signature' entrance to the campus. 

 

V-61



Modifications to Van Valzah and Hutton Streets will be necessary to 

improve their capacity to serve as thoroughfares and provide primary 

access to campus parking and service facilities. As a part of these 

improvements, signalized intersections may be required at Colfax Avenue. 

A service road to be developed along the existing alignment of Bushnell 

Street will provide an additional access to facilities in the northern portion of 

the site. Throughout the campus, service drives or roadways will alternate 

with dedicated pedestrian ways to provide convenient access to campus 

facilities for vehicles and pedestrians alike. 

To encourage a variety of circulation modes, roadways will be developed 

with dedicated lanes for bicycles, and where bus transit may occur, specially 

designed transit stops will be incorporated into the roadway system. Access 

for emergency vehicles will be accommodated in the design of many of the 

pedestrian ways, as well as provided for the in the design of the roadway 

system.. Conversely, most vehicular paths will also be designed to provide 

a safe and welcoming environment for pedestrians. 

In the short-term, although existing surface streets will continue to provide 

access to much of the campus; portions of the new roadway system will be 

constructed as projects are developed, including a portion of the loop road 

bordering the southern portion of the site for the new Cancer Center and the 

Center for Advanced Medicine (CAM). As the first phases of infrastructure 

are developed along the alignment of Charlie Kelly Boulevard, the existing 

roadway will be reconstructed as a major pedestrian way, as defined by the 

master plan, which will ultimately link Building 500 with clinical and 

educational facilities. 

In the long-term, most of the existing system of roads within the core of the 

campus will be replaced as the vehicular and pedestrian circulation network 

envisioned by the master plan is developed. 

Pedestrian Circulation. The campus envisioned by the master plan is 

structured around a series of open spaces and pedestrian ways to facilitate 

and encourage pedestrian circulation. Pedestrian linkages between 

buildings may also be developed to maximize the potential of pedestrian 

movements and develop the 'connectivity' between the various functional 

parts of the campus that will support and encourage personal interaction in 

an interdisciplinary environment. 

Fortunately, the size of the campus is conducive to a predominately 

pedestrian environment. It is an easy six minute walk from the center of the 

campus to any point on the loop road. The master plan recognizes the 

profound effect that the design of the pedestrian environment will have on 

the quality of life on the campus. As development occurs, it is important that 

the concession and support facilities, classrooms and meeting spaces, 

 

V-62



parking and vertical circulation elements be organized in ways that are 

convenient to, and encourage, pedestrian traffic. Too, in the design of 

buildings, the development of architectural and landscape amenities at all 

levels of pedestrian activity is extremely important in the creation of a 

successful pedestrian environment. 

In the short-term, new projects will be designed to provide convenient 

access for pedestrians, and to begin to establish the pedestrian linkages 

envisioned by the master plan. An example of this is in the development of 

the clinical zone, where the internal and external elements of the pedestrian 

circulation system are being organized to provide convenient access and 

movement in the first phase ambulatory care buildings, and to provide for 

the connection of future buildings to expand the pedestrian system to inpatient 

facilities, the research complex, and other campus facilities. 

The long-term development of the pedestrian system will require 

enhancements to provide safety for pedestrians at major intersections, 

adequate lighting, wayfinding, access for individuals with disabilities, and 

landscape amenities. 

Public Transportation. While the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (FAMC) 

remained open, the Regional Transportation District (RTD) provided bus 

service to Fitzsimons with three routes. Routes 20 and 15 provided service 

to the interior of the FAMC, while the 15 LTD, an express route, stopped 

adjacent to Fitzsimons along Colfax Avenue. In the short-term, these routes 

will continue to provide the primary transit access to the Fitzsimons site. 

In the long-term, it is anticipated that public (bus) transit will continue to play 

an important role in providing transportation alternatives for visitors and 

employees at the Fitzsimons campus. Additional routes are being 

considered that will provide improved access to the campus near the village 

center, and an on-campus circulator route may become viable as the 

campus population continues to grow. In addition, there are other planning 

efforts currently underway which are investigating other modes of public 

transportation which may affect Fitzsimons in the future. 

Light Rail. Corridors for the potential development of future light rail transit 

include both I-70, and I-225 . If constructed, light rail will probably include a 

stop near the intersection of I-70 and Peoria Street, and could include a 

major transit interchange near the intersection of I-225 and Colfax Avenue, 

which could provide a significant transit amenity for the campus if 

convenient transportation between Fitzsimons and the light rail stops is 

available. 

Air-Train. Study has been made of a heavy rail connection from Downtown 

Denver to Denver International Airport projected to follow the Smith 

Road/Union Pacific corridor near I-70, approximately two miles north of the 

 

V-63



site. Current plans do not include a stop at Peoria Street, and connections 

to the site by Air Train would probably require a secondary connection via 

shuttle bus, cab, or surface bus. 

Inter-Campus Shuttle. The inter-campus shuttle system, which has been in 

operation only a short time, will continue to provide regular service between 

the two campuses. As the relative population of Fitzsimons grows, it is 

anticipated that more frequent service will become both necessary and 

viable. 

Parking 

Parking facilities at the Fitzsimons site presently include both on-street 

parking and surface lots. Previous studies conducted by the Army Corps of 

Engineers documented parking for 3200 vehicles, including on-street 

spaces. Existing off-street parking lots have a capacity of 2,148 cars. 

(Approximately 3,600 parking spaces are currently available on the Ninth 

Avenue and Colorado Boulevard Campus.) 

In the short-term, new and renovated structures will utilize the existing 

parking areas to the extent possible, providing new parking facilities where 

necessary to meet patients' needs and provide reasonable surface 

accommodations for faculty and staff. As facilities are developed over the 

next five years, the reservoir of existing parking will be diminished as roads 

are realigned and surface parking areas are claimed as sites for new 

buildings. As demands continue to increase, and land available to provide 

surface parking areas becomes increasingly scarce, it will be necessary to 

construct parking structures, and/or provide parking as an integral 

component of new buildings. 

The long-term plan for parking facilities envisions a variety of parking 

facilities distributed throughout the site. Some parking will be provided near 

buildings to meet the needs of the handicapped and to provide close-in 

parking for a number of the building occupants. Surface parking areas will 

be provided in selected locations to provide convenient parking for patients 

and visitors. To conserve land for the development of new facilities and 

open space, structured parking will be developed on sites located at the 

periphery of the campus. The dispersed locations of these facilities will 

minimize vehicular congestion and traffic on campus roadways, while still 

providing convenient pedestrian access to all areas of the campus. 

 

V-64



D. SUMMARY OF PLANS 

FOR MAJOR 

CONSTRUCTION 

PROJECTS 

Overview 

The approach to development at the 9 th Avenue and at the Fitzsimons 

campus is to create and implement the type and number of projects that will 

meet the mission at both sites. At the current campus, there will be no new 

buildings constructed yet there will be significant remodels of existing space 

and backfill space as programs move to Fitzsimons. In addition, the 

infrastructure and utility systems will be maintained and upgraded to support 

the current activities as well as future reuse. 

At Fitzsimons, new buildings will be constructed and existing buildings will 

be reused to support the campus. New infrastructure and utility systems will 

be built and existing systems upgraded in a phased fashion as the 

development proceeds. Below is a list and description of the major projects 

that will occur at both sites in the short-term and long-term. State controlled 

maintenance projects are also described. 


Major Renovation Projects 

Pharmaceutical Care Learning Center – School of Pharmacy. This project 

calls for the creation of a pharmaceutical care learning center. This 3,000 sf 

facility will be located in current space in the School of Pharmacy Building at 

the 9 th and Colorado Boulevard campus. This project creates a space that 

facilitates simulations of work place settings and the observation and video 

recording of students in these settings. The scope of work includes 

designing laboratory space to be combined with space for the teaching of 

patient assessment, patient counseling, and prescription filling through 

demonstration, observation, video taping, and computer assisted instruction. 

This project is needed at the School of Pharmacy because of the changing 

workplace environment in the pharmacy and pharmaceutical industry. In 

the educational process of pharmacy students, it has now become essential 

to teach patient interfaces, including patient assessment and patient 

counseling. This project will provide a high-tech methodology to assist 

students in meeting patient needs in the 21 st century. 

There is no viable alternative to this project. This program must be housed 

in existing space with other School of Pharmacy programs to be effective. 

 

V-65



Research Space Renovations-Phase II. Although UCHSC is making the 

transition of the campus at 9 th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard to 

Fitzsimons, it is necessary to continue to remodel of facilities at the current 

campus. This project will renovate approximately 20,000 square feet of 

existing research and office space at 9 th Avenue with up-to-date, state-ofthe-art 

research space. There is an immediate need for this space and this 

project will remodel space for several School of Medicine Departments in 

the School of Medicine Building, Biomedical Research Building, the 

Research Bridge Building and the Administrative Office Building (formerly 

the Department of Health Building. Departments include Immunology, 

Genetics-Phase II, Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Infectious Diseases and 

others. The project will be phased over a two- to three-year period. 

There is a deficit of modern research space at the current campus. Many 

research programs cannot conduct efficient research activities because their 

space is old, deteriorated and inappropriately configured. Many labs are not 

as effective as possible because they are not designed, furnished and 

equipped to conduct modern, high-tech research activities. In addition, 

several research programs require expansion space to be effective. This 

project will solve the research space issues for these departments until new 

research facilities can be completed at Fitzsimons. 

There is no viable alternative to this project. The alternatives reviewed 

include leasing offsite space although this is not conductive or amendable to 

research activities and is very expensive. Additional buildings at Fitzsimons 

are not available currently for this type of activity. 

School of Dentistry Orthodontics Program. The School of Dentistry is 

adding a post-doctoral orthodontics program which will include a clinic to 

treat children with facial deformities as part of the residency program. A 

5,000 square foot area in the multi-use structure at 11 th and Colorado will be 

renovated as clinical and office space. It will include patient-treatment areas 

for patient care and teaching, laboratory support for clinical and teaching 

activities, a consultation area and office space for faculty and residents. 

Renovation. As the transition to Fitzismons takes place, additional 

remodels at the 9 th Avenue campus will be necessary. The vacated, or 

backfilled space, will require renovation of research space with some 

administrative and other space also needing renovation. Also there are a 

large number of existing and proposed infrastructure and utility projects, and 

these are listed in the table at the end of this section 

 

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Fitzsimons Campus 

Major Renovation Projects 

Building 521-Auditorium Remodel. This project will remodel the 1,000-seat 

theater at Fitzsimons for academic, research, patient care and community 

service conference and classroom needs. The Health Sciences Center 

currently has no large auditorium. 

At the present time, the Health Sciences Center campus has no large 

auditorium for academic, research patient care and community service 

conference and classroom needs. This type of auditorium space was 

initially planned in the Campus Center project on the 9 th Avenue campus. 

With the cancellation of this project, it is critical that the Health Sciences 

Center have this type of space. The current auditorium at Fitzsimons 

provides a unique opportunity to offer an activity to the Fitzsimons site as 

well as provide for the need mentioned above. 

There are no viable alternatives to this project at the 9 th and Colorado 

Boulevard campus and existing space is available at the Fitzsimons site. 

Buildings 1 & 2 - Commander’s House. The UCHSC proposes to use the 

Commander’s House for the Chancellor’s official functions at Fitzsimons. 

The Commander’s House and the Carriage House (Buildings 1 & 2) are 

located near the southwest corner of the Fitzsimons site, secluded in a 

grove. The Commander’s House incorporates sufficient space to 

accommodate limited food service or catering for such functions. The 

building has historic character and value, and the exterior will be maintained 

“as is.” The interior will be changed minimally for special events. 

The use of the 8,090 sf in the Commander’s House and Carriage House will 

provide the Chancellor’s Office with space to conduct official functions 

necessary to the UCHSC’s public relations function. The project is a costeffective 

approach to accommodate a program within an existing facility. 

Buildings 400, 401, & 422 - University Hospital Expansion. University 

Hospital requires building space in existing Fitzsimons facilities to 

accommodate their rapid move to the area. UH has a need for existing 

space to house programs while new space is constructed. In addition, 

some programs may reside permanently in these buildings. 

No programs have yet been identified to occupy these buildings; however, 

these spaces are designated for office purposes and programs, or groups of 

office programs that can stand alone or do not require co-location with the 

programs they serve or that serve them. These buildings affords the UH the 

opportunity to move administrative functions and stand-alone programs to 

the Fitzsimons site to support the UH development. 

 

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Buildings 400 and 401 each occupy 27,193 square feet and are sized 

appropriately for programs requiring office space to serve administrative 

functions. Building 422 occupies 16,443 square feet and was remodeled in 

the 1980’s to create open office areas, smaller closed offices, and two 

conference-sized rooms. 

Buildings 402, 406, & 407 – Air Force. The U.S. Air Force currently leases 

space for military personnel housing and will continue to lease through the 

year 2001. The three structures slated for continued occupation are 

Fitzsimons Buildings 402, 406, and 407. Under the lease provisions, the 

U.S. Air Force may perform remodels to the structures. This work must 

follow all UCHSC codes and standards and will require UCHSC written 

consent. The U.S. Air Force will also be responsible for all remodel costs 

and all operating costs for the buildings. 

The UCHSC and UH will utilize the facilities for housing or administrative 

use after the lease has expired. 

Buildings 410 and 508 - Inventory Storage. The U.S. Army and the UCHSC 

have identified and inventoried more than $2.7 million of furniture and 

equipment that will be conveyed to the UCHSC at no cost. This inventory is 

furniture and equipment that the U.S. Army does not plan to keep and that 

can be utilized for appropriate UCHSC and UH program which locate to the 

Fitzsimons site. The U.S. Army has stored the inventoried equipment in 

Building 410. This building provides approximately 12,000 square feet of 

secured storage space. Building 508 is also needed to store the large 

amount of furniture and equipment. 

The UCHSC requires a building to store the furniture and equipment being 

conveyed by the U.S. Army. The furniture and equipment is required in the 

lease agreement to stay on site and be used only at Fitzsimons. A storage 

site is required until the equipment can be moved to the receiving 

department. 

Building requirements for the storage of the inventoried equipment include 

minimal heating air-conditioning to defray humidity problems and 

temperature related deterioration, roof and shell integrity to eliminate leaks 

and security systems to deter theft and vandalism. 

Building 419 - Tri-County (Lease). The Tri-County Health Department’s 

mission is to promote and protect the health and environment of Adams, 

Arapahoe and Douglas County residents, and it serves approximately 

900,000 people in an area of about 3,000 square miles. The Department 

also offers the opportunity for rotation/internship experiences for the School 

of Nursing students. Building 419 occupies 12,984 square feet of space 

and is appropriately sized for the program. 

 

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Tri-County’s move from the Aurora office to Fitzsimons represents a 

necessary relocation of approximately 60 personnel and office stock. Tri- 

County shares the site with the Aurora City government, which seeks to 

utilize the space. The Fitzsimons site provides a central location for Tri- 

County’s clientele. The clientele generally represents the lower income 

strata in the southeast part of Adams and east part of Arapahoe counties. 

Access to the Tri-County/Fitzsimons site will be enhanced by the fact that 

Fitzsimons lies on the same major RTD bus line as does the current site. 

The move provides Tri-County with the opportunity to integrate and 

coordinate activities with the UCHSC and UH. 

Building 421 – Facilities. The move of the Facilities Projects and Facilities 

Operations Departments to Fitzsimons is necessary to provide support 

services for the continued development of the site. Building 421 is a twolevel 

building with 12,868 square feet and is appropriately sized for the two 

departments. 

Facilities Projects must move its operations base to Fitzsimons in order to 

be on site to manage the large volume of work. The 9th Avenue and 

Colorado Boulevard campus will focus on renovation of existing spaces, 

while the work at Fitzsimons will center on both new construction and 

renovation of existing facilities. The department’s on-site location at 

Fitzsimons affords its project managers the best control and management 

opportunities and eliminates travel time between the two campuses. 

Facilities Operations must move to Fitzsimons to provide the maintenance, 

building operations and repairs of the facilities. It is advantageous to be onsite 

to manage and direct the operations. It provides the opportunity to 

maintain and repair without delays. It also improves the response time for 

emergencies. 

Building 500 – Administration. Under the initial phase of renovations at 

Fitzsimons, the UCHSC remodeled approximately 298,000 square feet in 

the Administrative Building-Fitzsimons. With this initial remodel nearly 

complete, the UCHSC will renovate additional space in the building. In this 

phase, another 130,000 square feet is available for use. The space has 

been retained by the U.S. Army and has recently been released to the 

UCHSC. The remaining 20,000 square feet in the building will not be made 

available until the year 2001. 

The programs to be included in this phase will be located in a variety of 

areas on the basement, first, second, third, and seventh floors of the 

Administrative Building-Fitzsimons. The programs include: general 

office/administrative space, Cancer Center Faculty and other faculty offices, 

Office of Laboratory Animal Research, UH Human Resources, School of 

Nursing Research programs, Dining Facility, and Facilities Operations. 

 

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The space will be remodeled as office and dry research space. There is no 

wet laboratory or clinical space anticipated at this time. The space will be 

remodeled to standard or generic office/administrative space to ensure 

flexibility in future space use when and where assignments change. In 

addition to office and administrative space, the UCHSC will utilize much of 

the basement area for Facilities Operations. Most of this space is 

mechanical rooms and physical plan support space. The UCHSC and UH 

will also use the current dining and cafeteria area. 

Building 504 - University Police. The University Police requires the 

establishment of an autonomous security, protection, and law enforcement 

operation on the Fitzsimons site with the capacity to grow proportionately as 

the campus is developed. By July 1, 1999, the U.S. Army will no longer 

maintain a security presence at the Fitzsimons site. In the interim, the U.S. 

Army monitors the security, fire alarms, close circuit TV, radio and 

emergency phone systems. The operation is slated to reside in Building 

504 which occupies 17,503 square feet of space. Building 504 is currently 

used by the Base Provost Marshall and functions similar to the space 

required by the University Police. 

Building 514 - School of Dentistry Clinic. The School of Dentistry will utilize 

Fitzsimons Building 514. This facility is a 8,510 sf building which functions 

as a 13-chair operational dental clinic. The facilities will be utilized as a 

satellite location for its Advanced Clinical Training and Service (ACTS) 

Program, its General Practice Residency (GPR) Program in the SANDS 

Clinic and its Facility Practice Clinic. 

The ACTS Program allows students to provide the equivalent of one 

academic year of direct dental services to under served communities in 

Colorado and develop increased professional competence through these 

additional clinical experiences. At the heart of the ACTS Program is the 

cooperative effort among the School of Dentistry, community-based 

providers and under served Colorado residents. 

The GPR Program offers formal 12 month and 24 month residency 

programs in general dentistry in the hospital setting, stressing a clinical 

emphasis on all aspects of general dentistry. The current facility, the 

SANDS Clinic, houses 13 operatories in which residents and faculty provide 

patient care to a varied patient population. 

The Faculty Practice Clinic provides the School of Dentistry clinical space 

for the following functions: generating funds for the School of Dentistry 

programs of academic enrichment and program development; controlling 

clinical settings and populations to facilities clinical research; increasing 

clinical opportunities for pre-doctoral dental student education in advanced 

techniques and specialty care; developing center of excellence for specialty 

 

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clinical care; expanding hospital dentistry programs, fellowships, and 

specialty post-doctoral education; and providing additional dental care 

options to local residents. 

Building 610 - Psychiatric Primate Laboratory. The Department of 

Psychiatry’s Primate Laboratory is a satellite facility of the UCHSC Center 

for Laboratory Animal Care and currently occupies 3,439 square feet of 

space in the basement of the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital. The Primate 

Laboratory needs to relocate its facility in order to eliminate the problems 

that continually deteriorate the existing space in one of the oldest buildings 

on the current campus. Building 610 was constructed as an animal care 

facility with 6,960 square feet and features the Primate Laboratory will need 

for their program. 

Ongoing research (noninvasive) in the Primate Laboratory focuses on 

behavioral development and risk factors in health. The Laboratory houses 

closed colonies of bonnet and pigtail macaques. The Lab cares for 

approximately 130 animals and has space to house singly or in pairs, 

another 10 animals. The facility on the current campus did include a sterile 

surgery suite which no longer meets the current standards. 

Building 618 – AHEC. The Area Health Education Center (AHEC) system 

consists of a partnership among the five regional Area Health Education 

Center, the core AHEC office in Denver, and the UCHSC. AHEC’s mission 

is to improve the supply and distribution of health care professionals to 

medically under served regions of the state. AHEC currently manages 18 

ongoing projects and is located in 6 areas on and off the current campus. 

Building 618 is a two-level building occupying 19,714 square feet and 

requires a minimum amount of changes to the walls for AHEC. 

The AHEC is having difficulty in functioning effectively and efficiently 

because it is located in six different areas. The program has also indicated 

that it will double in size within seven years with the acquisition of new, 

centralized space. Without new space, AHEC cannot hire new personnel 

and this hinders its ability to implement new grant awards. 

Building 633 - Grounds Storage. The grounds keeping section under 

Facilities Operations is charged with the maintenance of all lands 

associated with the buildings conveyed to the UCHSC from the U.S. Army. 

This function includes all mowing, trimming, watering, and botanical 

operations, and requires the storage of numerous items of equipment and 

materials, such as mowing tractors, lawn mowers, weed eaters, pallets of 

ice melt, snow plows, sweeper brooms, mower decks, back hoe, front end 

loader, grass catcher, irrigation supplies, trucks, wheelbarrows, tool and 

moving boxes, air blowers, filters and other power and hand tools. The 

Grounds section needs secure storage space for its equipment at the 

Fitzsimons site in order to maintain its program for the site. This eliminates 

 

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the need to transport equipment between the two campuses which saves 

both time and money and maximizes equipment usage. The storage space 

also eliminates damage due to weather exposure. 

Building 633 is a multiple garage facility that occupies 2,423 square feet and 

will be used for a temporary storage facility for grounds keeping. The items 

to be stored are appropriate for this type of facility. 

New Construction: Short-Term 

Library System Access Building. The Library System Access Building will 

be constructed to house less frequently used books, archival materials, and 

other items now stored in the libraries and other facilities located currently at 

the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, the University of 

Colorado at Denver, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and University of 

Denver. This facility will be 14,020 square feet on approximately 3.0 acres 

of contiguous land at the Fitzsimons site. 

The Library System Access Building has two basic components. The 

primary component is the Central Storage Module and the other component 

is the facilities needed for support of that space, including on-site reading 

rooms, a processing area, space for a loading dock and storage for 

equipment. The Central Storage Module is extremely complex in its 

environmental needs and security. The space is programmed to house the 

maximum number of items in a minimum amount of space, but under 

extremely tight environmental and lighting controls that need to be 

designated to enhance the preservation of all materials stored in the facility. 

Warehouse. A new warehouse will be constructed and owned by University 

Hospital. University Hospital will provide services and space to the UCHSC. 

The existing lease for the current warehouse expires in the fall of 2000. 

Cancer and Urology Center. This project calls for the creation of a 

Cancer Center/Urology Program to house the clinical programs for the 

Cancer Center and Urology Program. This 93,000 square foot facility will be 

located at Fitzsimons. The Cancer Center and Urology Program will 

encompass a number of existing medical services now housed in 

inadequate spaces and disparate location across the existing UCHSC 

campus. The new Fitzsimons facility will provide for an expansion of space 

and services beyond the existing capacities to provide the foundation for 

growth of overall UCHSC cancer and urology programs. 

The Cancer Center, which received National Cancer Institute designation in 

1988, is a multi-disciplinary practice with over 20 subspecialty oncologists. 

Besides providing diagnostic and treatment services, the Center will offer 

prevention, wellness, and screening programs. The Urology Program is an 

 

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integrated multi-disciplinary, clinical program committed to patient care, 

education, and clinical research trials. 

At this time, these programs have already experienced and continue to 

project increases in patient volume that warrant a large and modern facility. 

Ambulatory Care Center (Center for Advance Medicine--CAM). A new 

Ambulatory Care Center facility will be constructed to house the ambulatory 

clinics. These clinics include: rehabilitation therapy and clinic, ambulatory 

surgery, neurodiagnostics and neurology and neurosurgery clinics, 

endoscopy lab, ENT and audiology, GYN, OB, prenatal diagnostics, family 

medicine, general surgery clinics, chronic pain clinics, dermatology clinic, 

seniors clinic, infectious disease clinics, rheumatology clinic, UMGP clinic, 

GI clinic, reproductive endocrinology, orthopaedic clinic, plastic surgery, 

clinical trials, dental clinics, CNM clinics, telemedicine consult clinics, and 

general medicine clinics. 

Rocky Mountain Lion’s Eye Institute. A facility will be constructed to house 

the Rocky Mountain Lion’s Eye Institute in partnership with Rocky Mountain 

Eye Bank. This facility will include clinical and outpatient functions. 

Research Complex 1. There is a deficit of modern research space at the 

current campus. Many research programs cannot conduct efficient 

research activities because their space is old, deteriorated and 

inappropriately configured. Many labs are not as effective as possible 

because they are not designed, furnished and equipped to conduct modern, 

high-tech research activities. In addition, several research programs require 

expansion space to be effective. UCHSC is committed to moving research 

space to Fitzsimons and will establish large research complexes there. This 

will require the construction of large buildings. This project is the first phase 

of the development of research space at Fitzsimons. 

There is no viable alternative to this project. The alternatives reviewed 

include remodel of space at 9 th Avenue; however, there are no large 

amounts of space available and construction of new space will be 

constructed at Fitzsimons rather than on the current campus. Lease of 

offsite space was reviewed; however, this is not conductive or amendable to 

research activities and is very expensive. There are no existing buildings at 

Fitzsimons that will accommodate this activity and new construction is 

essential. 

The complex will contain approximately 600,000 gsf. It will house the basic 

sciences activities and those research activities related to ambulatory care 

services and disciplines. It will be located in the northwest quadrant of the 

site and cost approximately $216 million. It will be a phased project, taking 

approximately five years to build. 

 

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Perinatal Research Expansion. This project will construct a 10,000 sf 

addition to the existing facility at Fitzsimons to consolidate the Molecular 

and Cellular Biology research program. Research is currently conducted at 

Fitzsimons and at the UCHSC campus. The expansion of the facility will 

allow research work to be accomplished more efficiently and coordinated in 

a single location. 

This expansion is needed to continue the research activities of the Health 

Sciences Center. This program and associated project provide the unique 

opportunity to establish and conduct additional research activities at 

Fitzsimons while decreasing the deficit of research space campus-wide. It 

also provides the opportunity to co-locate interdisciplinary research 

activities. 

There is no viable alternative to this research space at the 9 th Avenue 

campus. There is no sufficient space at the current campus and the current 

perinatal research activity is conducted at the Fitzsimons site. The only 

viable alternative is to construct the space at Fitzsimons adjacent to the 

current research activity. 

Center for Studies for Clinical Performance. This project will construct a 

building for the program on Studies for Clinical Performance with activities in 

the areas of assessment, research and learning. At the core of this program 

will be a dedication to producing humanistic, health care providers, using 

innovative methods to evaluate the essential skills needed by these 

individuals to serve the citizens of Colorado. The building will be 

approximately 17,000 square feet and will have the most modern, up-todate 

research and assessment equipment. It will also contain a wellequipped 

learning resource center for health professionals. This program 

was recently awarded the Program of Excellence Award by the Colorado 

Commission of Higher Education. 

The current and future health care delivery environment requires that 

professionals learn to deliver effective, high quality, and humanistic care 

within pluralistic communities and complex organizations. This expectation 

must be met immediately. UCHSC School of Medicine must evaluate their 

students/residents in order to decide if they learned the essential 

professional skills, knowledge and attitudes to succeed and serve into the 

next century. 

The project alternatives include: (1) remodel of existing space at the current 

campus. This is not feasible because there is no available space at the 

current campus and because HSC policy is to provide construction of new 

buildings at Fitzsimons. (2) remodel an existing building at Fitzsimons. This 

is not possible because no building at Fitzsimons has the high-tech 

infrastructure to support this activity and because this building will be an 

anchor building for the new education complex at Fitzsimons. 

 

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Native American Center. This project will construct a facility with 

approximately 50,000 gsf at Fitzsimons. The facility will accommodate the 

relocation and program expansion requirements of the Division of American 

Indian and Alaska Native Programs, Programs for the Public Psychiatry, 

and the UCHSC TeleHealth/TeleEducation Program Office. 

The Division of American Indian and Alaska Native Programs is a unit of the 

Department of Psychiatry of the School of Medicine. The Division is 

currently comprised of six centers, each national in scope, that cover the 

development life span in terms of research, training, continuing education, 

technical assistance, and information dissemination specific to the health of 

this special population. The programs include: 1) the National Center for 

American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research; 2) the National 

Program Office of the Healthy Nations Initiative; 3) the Native Elder Health 

Care Resource Center; 4) the Circles of Care Evaluation Technical 

Assistance Center; 5) the Native Elder Research Center, a Resource Center 

for Minority Aging Research; and 6) the new Center for Native American 

TeleHealth and TeleEducation. 

The mission of the Division is to promote the health and well-being of 

American Indians and Alaska Natives, of all ages, by pursuing research, 

training, continuing education, technical assistance, and information 

dissemination within a biopsychosocial framework that recognizes the 

unique cultural contexts of this special population. 

The Program for Public Psychiatry unit is comprised of a series of 

public/academic collaborations in public psychiatry and psychology. The 

programs share the tripartite mission of: 1) enhancing Colorado’s public 

psychiatric and psychological work-force; 2) providing education to legal, 

health, and mental health professionals, students, families, consumer 

groups, and the public about mental health issues; and 3) conducting and 

coordinating research in public psychiatry and psychology. The Program for 

Public Psychiatry unit is one of the largest and fastest-growing division-level 

program units of the Department of Psychiatry. Its faculty are active and 

widely recognized for their work at regional, national, and international 

levels. 

The UCHSC TeleHealth/TeleEducation Program Office was developed with 

the primary purpose of coordinating and providing the necessary support 

services for the numerous campus TeleHealth and TeleEducation program 

activities. The primary goal for the office is to work with other state entities 

to develop a network to provide consultative medical services and education 

to the state and region. The TeleHealth/TeleEducation program will 

improve access to health care and education for the citizens of the State 

and serves as another mechanism for the UCHSC to fulfill its mission. 

 

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Infrastructure (Phase I). The move of the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center to the Fitzsimons site will require substantial infrastructure 

support in order to facilitate the ultimate build-out of the facilities necessary 

to achieve the long-term mission of the UCHSC. Most of the site utility 

infrastructure is 50 to 70 years old and much of the southern portion of the 

UCHSC property has no infrastructure. This project is the initial phase of 

the infrastructure development of the site and will facilitate the development 

of the new campus. 

The first phase of the infrastructure will include the installation of a 16-inch 

water line along Charlie Kelly Boulevard, the installation of a section of the 

sanitary sewer system to support the early new buildings, the construction 

of an electrical duct bank along Charlie Kelly Boulevard, the construction of 

a utility tunnel for steam and chilled water along Charlie Kelly Boulevard, 

and the installation of a steam line to connect the new buildings to current 

heating plant steam distribution system. 

This project is needed because substantial infrastructure is necessary to 

build out the Fitzsimons site. The infrastructure and utility systems to be 

constructed will provide the foundation for the current and future 

development of the site. It is envisioned that the new campus will have 

modern, up-to-date, high-tech research, education, and health care facilities 

and adequate utility and infrastructure systems must support these. These 

systems must have the capacity to serve both immediate and long-term 

needs. 

Infrastructure (Phase II). The move of the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center to the Fitzsimons site will require substantial infrastructure 

support in order to facilitate the ultimate build-out of the facilities necessary 

to achieve the mission of the UCHSC. Most of the site utility infrastructure 

is 50 to 70 years old and much of the southern portion of the UCHSC 

property has no infrastructure. The second phase of the infrastructure will 

enhance the first-phase projects and include a main water line to the 

UCHSC site; a sanitary sewer to serve the area south of Charlie Kelly 

Boulevard; a utility corridor and electrical duct bank including electrical lines, 

steam and condensate piping and chilled water supply and return lines to 

serve current building and future construction; and the development of a 

large capacity, redundant electrical power distribution system. These 

systems must have the capacity to serve both immediate and long-term 

needs. It is also essential that the second phase of the project integrate 

with the first phase to ensure continuity of projects and the uninterrupted 

development of the site. 

Projects in the second phase will include the development of a redundant 

electrical system, additions to the sanitary sewer system, new roadways 

including curb and gutter, a new central energy plant with chilled water 

capabilities with the eventual potential of steam generation; a natural gas 

 

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supply line and fiber optic loop system to serve information systems and 

communication needs. These projects will be located in a variety of areas 

at Fitzsimons and will be located within the 186 acres of conveyed or leased 

property to the UCHSC. 

There are no alternatives to meet the program and facilities requirements. 

Because there will be a large build-out and the current infrastructure cannot 

support the development, these projects are necessary. Without them, the 

Fitzsimons development cannot occur. All projects in Phases I and II are 

considered essential. UCHSC will review and consider construction 

methodology and approaches to the projects and review alternative project 

delivery approaches. UCHSC will also continue to review alternatives in the 

phasing and scheduling of the project to avoid unnecessary time and 

expenses. 

New Construction (Long-term) 

Education Complex II (80,000 gsf). This educational component represents 

an expansion of the Center for Studies in Clinical Performance to support all 

schools and programs – multidisciplinary/multiprofessional. Disciplinespecific 

simulated learning clinics and specialized learning labs are 

included. Computer-based learning, small group learning, and selfdirected/collaborative 

learning environments complement the purpose of the 

facility, that is, clinical performance learning and assessment. Specific 

space to be tentatively included in this project includes microcomputer 

laboratories, simulated learning laboratories, specialized learning 

laboratories, classrooms and small group/seminar rooms. 

Education Complex III ( 65,000 gsf). This educational component 

represents the transition of classrooms and other environments. This space 

will be utilized to accommodate the majority of basic and clinical science 

education to accommodate all educational programs. The tentative 

instructional space will include multi-purpose wet and dry labs, classrooms, 

small group/seminar space and individual study space. 

Education Complex IV (65,000 gsf). This educational space will include 

additional classrooms, studio and media preparation space for Educational 

Support Services, additional small group/seminar rooms and selfdirected/collaborative 

learning carrels to accommodate all campus 

programs. 

Library (120,000 gsf). This facility will provide replacement and expansion 

space for the current Denison Memorial Library. Denison Memorial Library 

is the largest biomedical library in Colorado, providing information and 

services primarily to students, faculty, and staff of the UCHSC. The library 

provides print and electronic resources, education on information retrieval 

and management, and access to worldwide information networks. The 

 

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primary mission of the Denison Library is to assist the UCHSC in 

accomplishing its mission and goals in education, research, patient care and 

community service. 

Student Center (94,000 gsf). This facility will include a campus union and 

recreation center. To be tentatively included in the campus union will be 

space for the following function: food services, bookstore and related retail, 

conference and meeting facilities, and student support space. The 

recreation center will include space for recreational and fitness programs to 

be made available to the entire UCHSC community. Functions may include 

gymnasium, aerobics, cardiovascular and weight areas, swimming, 

racquetball and squash courts. 

Student Dental Clinic (35,000gsf). Facility will support the instructional 

program of the School of Dentistry. Space will include specific simulated 

learning clinics and specialized learning labs necessary to train dental 

health care professionals. 

Facilities Workshops (50,000 gsf). The UCHSC will require a facility to 

house workshops, motor pool, and other units responsible for the 

maintenance of open space, infrastructure, and buildings at Fitzsimons. In 

addition, this facility will house printing services and other auxiliaries that 

require similar space for their functions. 

Schools’ Administration Building (160,000 gsf). Most of the instructional 

space will be shared among schools and located in appropriate areas 

across the campus. Each school, however, will require a “home base” to 

house administrative functions, student support functions that are unique to 

a school or program, and faculty offices that are not otherwise assigned in 

clinical or research space. 

CPH Outpatient (90,000 gsf). This space is necessary to house programs 

in education, clinical units and research for the Department of Psychiatry, 

School of Medicine. This facility will primarily replace the current Colorado 

Psychiatric Hospital facility located at 9 th Avenue. 

CPH Inpatient (130,000 gsf). This facility will house the Colorado 

Psychiatric Hospital. This facility will replace the University North Pavilion 

located near 9 th Avenue and Colorado Blvd. 

University Hospital (700,000 gsf). University Hospital is a regional, acute 

care teaching hospital, which offers a full spectrum of primary, secondary, 

and tertiary adult services, supported by medical staff/faculty representing 

all major medical and surgical subspecialties. UH provides a 

comprehensive array of diagnostic and therapeutic services on both an 

inpatient and outpatient basis. This facility will be a 300-bed replacement 

facility. 

 

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Parking Structures. The move of the University of Colorado Health 

Sciences Center to Fitzsimons will require parking to support the volume of 

faculty, staff, patients, and visitors that will be visiting this site. As the new 

site is developed, the need for a parking structure will increase. 

Research Complex II. This 200,000 gsf facility will house additional basic 

sciences research activities, as well as additional interdisciplinary research 

functions. 

Infrastructure Phases III and IV. Several phases of infrastructure and utility 

development will occur in the first ten years. Projects will include more 

roads and access, telecommunications additions, co-generation of electricity 

and steam, the addition of steam boilers, electrical distribution, and 

additional water and sewer/storm system work. 

Demolition 

The UCHSC will receive 217 acres of land and associated buildings and 

personal property at Fitzsimons by the year 2008. The initial conveyance, 

which will be completed no later than 2003 will include 186 acres and nearly 

80 buildings. The remaining 31 acres and 30 buildings will be utilized by the 

FRA until the UCHSC requests them in approximately 2008. In total, the 

UCHSC will receive over one hundred buildings. 

The approach the UCHSC and UH have determined regarding the buildings 

is to utilize some buildings both short and long-term and demolish the 

remaining. 

Reuse. Several buildings will be utilized at Fitzsimons. The buildings will be 

utilized for a variety of activities and functions from administrative use to 

inventory and equipment storage. There are well over a dozen buildings to 

be remodeled and utilized for UCHSC and UH activities. These are 

specified and defined in the Program Plan for the Remodel of the 

Administrative Building, Phase 2 and Other Buildings and the Program Plan 

for the Auditorium Renovation at Fitzsimons. 

These buildings were selected for reuse because their physical condition 

will allow for reuse at a minimal cost and because they meet the 

programmatic needs of several support and clinical activities at the current 

campus. There will be little to minimal remodel of these facilities and they 

will be utilized “as is” as much as possible. In the short-term and during the 

initial development period of 12-15 years, these buildings will be utilized. 

These reuse facilities are listed in the attached table. If it is determined that 

any of these facilities are in the way of development or new buildings, the 

facility will be reevaluated and demolished if needed. In the long-term, 

nearly all the current buildings in the UCHSC site will be replaced with new 

 

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facilities. It is envisioned that when development of the campus is complete 

that only 3 or four current buildings will remain. These include Building 500, 

the Auditorium and the former Commander’s residence and associated 

building. 

Demolition. All other buildings on the site will be demolished to establish 

the space for the new development including buildings, roads and access, 

utilities and infrastructure and open space. The approach to demolition will 

be to raze these structures when the sites are needed and funding is 

available. It is envisioned there will be a phased approach with buildings 

being demolished incrementally over a period of several years to make way 

for the new development. In the short-term and during the initial 

development period, many buildings will be razed and in the long-term, only 

3 or 4 of the current buildings will remain. In the attached table, there is a 

list of the buildings to be demolished in the initial period of development. 

Specific buildings to be razed will be determined at a later date as the sites 

are required for new use. 

 

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CAPITAL AND MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS SUMMARY 

9th & COLORADO 

BUILDING PROJECT YEAR 

AREA COST OCCUPIED 

(GSF) (1998 $) 

Major Renovation (Short Term) 

Pharmaceutical Care Learning Center 3,000 $400,000 2000 

Research Space 20,000 $4,192,000 2001 

School Of Dentistry Orthodontics 

5,000 $1,283,800 2002 

Program 

Research Space (Backfill) 100,000 $4,000,000 

Administration (Backfill) 50,000 $1,000,000 

New Construction: None planned 

Demolition: None planned 

Controlled Maintenance Projects 

Air Quality & Ventilation Improvements N/A $2,060,000 

Power Plant & Campus Cooling 

N/A $7,491,000 

System Improvements 

Power Plant Heating & Electrical 

N/A $2,910,000 

System Improvements 

Colorado Psychiatric Hospital 

N/A $2,468,000 

Infrastructure 

Campus Roof & Window Replacement N/A $1,689,000 

Campus Elevator Upgrades N/A $1,968,000 

Expansion Of Fire Detection System N/A $500,000 

SOM Deionized Water System 

N/A $799,000 

Replacement 

Expansion & Upgrade Of Emergency 

N/A $750,000 

Power Distribution 

Replace Underground Storage Tanks N/A $1,500,000 

FITZSIMONS 

Major Renovation (Short Term) 

Bldg1&2 Commander's House 8,090 $266,047 2003 

Bldg 400 27,193 2003 

Bldg 401 27,193 2003 

Bldg 422 16,443 2003 

Bldg 402 22,632 2003 

Bldg 406 19,485 2003 

Bldg 407 19,509 2003 

Bldg 410 Inventory Storage 13,910 $209,353 2003 

Bldg 419 Tri County (Lease) 12,984 $538,263 2003 

Bldg 421 Facilities 12,868 $533,593 2003 

Bldg 500 Administration 130,000 $1,842,815 2003 

 

V-81





(GSF) (1998 $) 

Bldg 514 School Of Dentistry Clinic 8,510 $358,126 

Bldg 520 To Be Determined 29,103 $0 

Bldg 521 Auditorium 19,694 $2,195,000 2000 

Bldg 610 Psych Primate Lab 6,960 $387,332 

Bldg 618 AHEC 19,714 $546,686 

Bldg 633 Grounds Storage 2,423 $83,026 

New Construction (Short Term) 

Archive Library 20,000 $4,220,000 2001 

Warehouse 50,000 $5,189,000 2000 

Cancer / Urology Center 95,000 $21,600,000 2000 

Ambulatory Care Center (CAM) 260,000 $55,367,000 2001 

Rocky Mountain Lion's Eye Institute 45,000 $8,865,000 2000 

Research IA 300,000 $67,072,000 2001 

Research IB 300,000 $88,464,000 2001 

Bldg 260 Perinatal Research 

10,000 $3,226,000 2000 

Expansion 

Native American Center 45,000 $10,400,000 2001 

Center On Studies For Clinical 

20,000 $3,960,000 2001 

Performance (Education I) 

Infrastructure (Phase I&II) N/A $26,000,000 2002 

New Construction (Long Term) 

Research II 200,000 $58,976,000 2005 

Education II Instructional 80,000 $15,841,000 2002 

Education III 65,000 $12,871,000 2008 

Education IV 65,000 $12,871,000 2010 

Student Dental Clinic 35,000 $7,453,000 2004 

Library 120,000 $25,321,000 2009 

SOM, SOP, SON, SOD 160,000 $23,438,000 2008 

CPH Outpatient 90,000 $13,184,000 2010 

CPH Inpatient 130,000 $27,683,000 2010 

Hospital 700,000 $235,704,000 2008 

Campus Center 94,000 $16,781,000 2006 

Facilities Support 50,000 $5,189,000 2004 

Infrastructure (III, IV, V, VI, VII) $119,000,000 

Demolition) 

Bldg. 400 27,193 $190,351 

Bldg. 401 22,656 $158,592 

Bldg. 402 22,632 $158,424 

Bldg. 403 21,057 $147,399 

Bldg. 404 23,728 $166,096 

Bldg. 405 11,977 $83,839 

Bldg. 406 19,485 $136,395 

 

V-82





(GSF) (1998 $) 

Bldg. 407 19,509 $136,563 

Bldg. 408 5,438 $38,066 

Bldg. 409 15,261 $106,827 

Bldg. 410 13,910 $97,370 

Bldg. 413 6,206 $43,442 

Bldg. 416 6,008 $42,056 

Bldg. 417 12,206 $85,442 

Bldg. 418 9,748 $68,236 

Bldg. 418 2,512 $17,584 

Bldg. 419 12,984 $90,888 

Bldg. 420 15,326 $107,282 

Bldg. 420 780 $5,460 

Bldg. 421 12,868 $90,076 

Bldg. 422 3,176 $22,232 

Bldg. 422 13,267 $92,869 

Bldg. 502 4,310 $30,170 

Bldg. 502 14,124 $98,868 

Bldg. 503 12,792 $89,544 

Bldg. 504 4,121 $28,847 

Bldg. 504 13,382 $93,674 

Bldg. 505 12,250 $85,750 

Bldg. 505 5,694 $39,858 

Bldg. 506 5,740 $40,180 

Bldg. 507 15,901 $111,307 

Bldg. 508 21,297 $149,079 

Bldg. 509 15,357 $107,499 

Bldg. 510 1,978 $13,846 

Bldg. 511 46,988 $328,916 

Bldg. 511 27,106 $189,742 

Bldg. 511A 11,245 $78,715 

Bldg. 511B 901 $6,307 

Bldg. 513 1,539 $10,773 

Bldg. 514 8,496 $59,472 

Bldg. 515 22,041 $154,287 

Bldg. 515 2,357 $16,499 

Bldg. 516 2,889 $20,223 

Bldg. 517 9,350 $65,450 

Bldg. 519 971 $6,797 

Bldg. 520 29,103 $203,721 

Bldg. 526 8,178 $57,246 

Bldg. 526 2,577 $18,039 

Bldg. 527 3,829 $26,803 

Bldg. 528 6,054 $42,378 

Bldg. 529 19,764 $138,348 

Bldg. 530 3,361 $23,527 

Bldg. 531 4,835 $33,845 

Bldg. 532 975 $6,825 

Bldg. 533 5,080 $35,560 

Bldg. 534 3,299 $23,093 

 

V-83





(GSF) (1998 $) 

Bldg. 602 9,516 $66,612 

Bldg. 603 13,527 $94,689 

Bldg. 603 8,379 $58,653 

Bldg. 604 21,362 $149,534 

Bldg. 605 24,716 $173,012 

Bldg. 605A 2,417 $16,919 

Bldg. 606 22,399 $156,793 

Bldg. 607 192 $1,344 

Bldg. 610 6,960 $48,720 

Bldg. 611 17,842 $124,894 

Bldg. 612 19,232 $134,624 

Bldg. 613 19,232 $134,624 

Bldg. 618 19,545 $136,815 

Bldg. 619 18,098 $126,686 

Bldg. 630 4,690 $32,830 

Bldg. 631 4,690 $32,830 

Bldg. 632 19,444 $136,108 

Bldg. 633 2,423 $16,961 

Bldg. 700 10,770 $75,390 

Bldg. 701 7,394 $51,758 

Bldg. 702 7,394 $51,758 

Bldg. 703 10,770 $75,390 

Bldg. 704 7,394 $51,758 

Bldg. 705 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 706 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 707 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 708 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 709 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 710 3,706 $25,942 

Bldg. 711 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 712 13,552 $94,864 

Bldg. 713 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 714 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 715 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 716 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 717 10,770 $75,390 

Bldg. 718 6,489 $45,423 

Bldg. 719 7,005 $49,035 

Bldg. 720 12,732 $89,124 

Bldg. 721 11,380 $79,660 

Bldg. 722 12,732 $89,124 

Bldg. 723 11,380 $79,660 

Bldg. 727 102 $714 

Bldg. 800 12,731 $89,117 

Bldg. 801 18,397 $128,779 

Bldg. 802 12,731 $89,117 

Bldg. 803 18,397 $128,779 

Bldg. 804 8,109 $56,763 

Bldg. 805 8,109 $56,763 

 

V-84





(GSF) (1998 $) 

Bldg. 810 15,409 $107,863 

Bldg. 811 15,409 $107,863 

 

V-85



SECTION VI 

REDEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR 9 TH AVENUE 

AND COLORADO BLVD. CAMPUS 

“The University of Colorado as a whole and, in particular, the UCSHC, is participating 

in a historic and exciting endeavor that will not be repeated in our lifetime … I 

encourage and welcome others to help shape a future for the UCHSC that will put us 

on the map as national leaders and reshape research, teaching and clinical care for 

the new millennium.” 

James H. Shore, Chancellor, UCHSC, 1998 

The eventual relocation of UCHSC and UH programs to Fitzsimons creates 

opportunities for the University of Colorado to rededicate the education, 

research, and clinical facilities of the 9 th Ave. campus to new and innovative 

uses. The University’s plans to maintain the existing facilities throughout and 

beyond the transition period will ensure that the urban campus can be 

transformed to meet new challenges to serve the State of Colorado. This 

commitment is embedded in the financial assumptions (i.e., costs of 

maintaining, renovating, and operating the 9 th Ave. campus) of this master 

plan and has been articulated in a policy statement. On August 6, 1998, the 

Board approved a resolution which stated that a single master plan scenario 

must apply several criteria, including one that “preserves the physical 

integrity of the existing buildings and infrastructure at the current 9 th and 

Colorado campus to facilitate its reuse.” 

In order to establish a rational process that would include many internal and 

external groups in the deliberations on the long-term redevelopment of the 

campus, a subcommittee was established within the planning process. This 

group includes membership from the planning offices of each of the other 

three University of Colorado campuses and the President’s Office, 

neighborhood representatives, administrators from agencies in the City and 

County of Denver, faculty, staff, and a member of the Board of Regents. 

In August 1998, the Board of Regents provided principles and planning 

guidelines to focus the planning discussions and to establish parameters for 

recommendations regarding the long-term use of the campus. The 

resolution creating this framework is attached to this section. While the 

Board reserves all rights to make specific decisions regarding future use or 

disposal of property, the resolution establishes a hierarchy of logical 

redevelopment options for the several different types of properties that 

comprise the UCHSC. For all but the “peripheral” properties, the highest 

VI-1



priority will be to use the land and facilities for “UCHSC programs that do not 

relocate to Fitzsimons.” 

The planning subcommittee has noted that the transition plan involves the 

use of almost the entire 9 th Avenue campus for at least 10-12 years. 

Therefore, minimal changes are expected that would impact the community 

in the near term. Because it is difficult to make recommendations and 

engage in meaningful planning when the timeframe is greater than ten years, 

the subcommittee will identify key issues that will require ongoing 

communication and consultation on operational (e.g., traffic and parking), 

and land use or land disposal issues. These issues will be outlined in a 

report that will be completed in December 1998. As the transition progresses 

and approaches the later years, this group will become engaged in the 

planning for specific redevelopment options. 

VI-2

Institutional Master Plan SEPTEMBER 25, 1998 


SECTION VII 

FINANCIAL PLAN 

“We have to use our resources in new ways to provide new educational 

opportunities, taking advantage of all the new technological advances.” 

Regent Kelly, University of Colorado, regarding TLE, 1997 

BACKGROUND AND 

INTRODUCTION 

With the closure of the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, the UCHSC coordinated 

with the City of Aurora, the U.S. Army, and the federal Department of Education to 

prepare a redevelopment plan for the base. The redevelopment plan submitted by 

the UCHSC calls for a 30- to 50-year transition of the base into a state-of-the-art 

academic health sciences center with ties to the adjacent Biomedical Research Park 

being developed by the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority. Under this plan, the 

UCHSC will gain title to 217 acres of land and 71 buildings at no cost. 

The next step in the planning process for the UCHSC in partnership with UH is the 

formulation of a comprehensive Master Plan for the current 9 th and Colorado 

Boulevard campus and the new site for the campus at the former Fitzsimons Army 

Medical Center. In March 1998, in the early phase of the Master Planning process, 

the UCHSC and UH undertook a preliminary financial feasibility study for relocating 

the campus to the Fitzsimons site in a ten-year period of time. The Finance 

Subcommittee for the Master Planning process conducted the preliminary financial 

feasibility study. The preliminary study was intended to provide the UCHSC and UH 

constituents with a general sense of the financial feasibility of moving the campus in 

ten years. Although the information available to conduct the preliminary financial 

feasibility study was qualified as limited, and numerous concerns were raised about 

the assumptions used for the study, it was considered sufficiently reliable to conclude 

that it is financially feasible to transition to the new Fitzsimons site. 

On July 1, 1998, during the next phase of the Master Planning process, the 

Executive Master Planning Committee approved four transition scenarios for a more 

complete financial study. The Master Plan Finance Subcommittee with the help of an 

external consulting group (Ernst & Young LLP) conducted the financial analysis. 

Ernst & Young LLP participated in the processing of the financial study assumptions 

and assisted in the documentation of the assumptions. The financial study consisted 

of a financial plan for each transition scenario. The transition scenarios and the 

related financial study were presented to the various Master Planning committees 

and the campus community in July 1998 and to the Board of Regents Capital 

Planning Committee and the University Hospital Board in August 1998. 

VII-1



The financial study of these four transition scenarios assisted the planning process in 

narrowing the transition options to a single transition scenario that will be the basis 

for the Master Plan. This report summarizes the financial plan for the single 

transition scenario. 

OVERVIEW OF 

METHODOLOGY 

A Finance Subcommittee for the Master Planning process was appointed to analyze, 

critique, and provide information for the financial study of transitioning to the 

Fitzsimons site and reuse of the current 9 th Avenue campus. The Subcommittee 

used projected transition cost data developed by the Master Plan Working Group and 

Consultants as the basis for distributing available projected resources under the 

transition scenario. 

The Finance Subcommittee held weekly meetings to: establish methodology for 

developing the financial plan; make decisions about the resource variables to include 

in the financial plan; develop assumptions to apply the projected resources to the 

financial plan; and monitor the progress of the financial plan development. These 

meetings were “open” meetings, and other individuals, such as faculty members, 

interested in the deliberations attended and gave input to the Subcommittee. 

The Subcommittee received assistance from Ernst & Young LLP, an external 

consulting firm with expertise in both higher education and hospital finance. Ernst & 

Young LLP was selected to participate in the development of the financial plans by 

providing analysis, financial modeling, information related to trends in health care and 

higher education, and by testing assumptions. 

The single transition scenario, as well as the four transition scenarios, were 

formulated through the Master Planning process with input from three core teams 

comprised of leaders in the clinical, education and research programs of the UCHSC 

and UH. These teams forwarded recommendations to the Master Plan Executive 

Committee, which approved the various transition scenarios for financial study. 

Like the methodology used for the four transition scenarios, the financial plan for the 

single transition scenario includes a detailed estimate of the total cost requirements. 

A team of external consultants engaged to participate in the Master Planning process 

completed the detail cost estimates. The Master Planning consulting team consisted 

of architects, engineers, planners, and estimators under the direction of Davis 

Partnership. The projected cost requirements for the transition scenario are 

comprehensive and include the full requirements for relocating to the new site and 

UH and UCHSC reuse of the current site. For example, the cost estimates include: 

all types of professional fees; furniture, equipment and furnishing requirements; 

moving and relocation costs; site preparation and construction costs; campus 

infrastructure costs; and controlled maintenance costs. The cost estimates include a 

four percent compounded inflation factor and a project contingency of five percent. 

VII-2



Furthermore, the consulting team calculated the cash requirements for each year of 

the transition period based on the length of time typically required for planning, 

design, construction and final occupancy of various types of space and structures. 

The Finance Subcommittee spent considerable time developing estimates of onetime 

and incremental resources that could be available for: 1) meeting the facility 

requirement identified for the transition scenario; 2) maintaining the base campus 

programs; and 3) enhancing existing or creating new programs. In addition, the 

Finance Subcommittee determined guidelines to direct the allocation of projected 

resources in the financial plans to facility requirements identified for the transition 

scenario, maintaining base programs, and enhancing existing or creating new 

programs. The Finance Subcommittee did not identify specific requirements for 

program enhancements and new programs due to the infinite nature of such 

requirements and the limitation of time available to conduct such an analysis. 

Once the requirements and resources were defined, the projected resources were 

allocated to the requirement estimates in order to identify the margin. The margin 

analysis was conducted both on an annual basis and in total for the transition 

scenario. In the study of the four transition scenarios, the Subcommittee reviewed 

the results of the margin analysis and reached conclusions regarding each transition 

scenario. As a result of comparing the four scenarios, the resource gaps were too 

significant to recommend proceeding with any of them. 

The University of Colorado Board of Regents reviewed the results of the four 

transition scenarios and directed the UCHSC to develop a single transition scenario 

for the Master Plan that accommodates the following criteria: 

Transition core activities to Fitzsimons in the shortest time possible (a front-load 

scenario) with all new buildings at Fitzsimons. 

Balance realistic estimates of cost and achievable resources. 

Preserves the core principles from the vision development process. 

Protects and enhances program support to the maximum extent possible. 

Integrates and maximizes the use of University, State, Federal, and private sector 

resources. 

Provides realistic staging including the transitional use of the current campus. 

Maximizes enterprise development options. 

Minimizes program disruption or degradation from a student, patient, and services 

perspective. 

VII-3



Expedites acquisition of research space. 

Preserves future development options for affiliates. 

Preserves the physical integrity of the existing buildings and infrastructure at the 

current 9 th and Colorado Boulevard campus to facilitate its reuse. 

Based on the direction of the Board of Regents, the Executive Master Plan 

Committee restructured transition plan to proceed with the transition as quickly as 

financially feasible. This approach eliminates the gap and identifies a transition 

scenario that is financially viable given the current set of assumptions. This financial 

plan is the basis of the projections within this report. 

The methodology for constructing the financial plan is characterized in the following 

chart: 

FINANCIAL PLAN METHODOLOGY 


Executive Committee 


Finance Subcommittee 

Incremental 

Requirements 

Summary for each 

Transition Scenario 

Margin Analysis 

for Four Transition 

Scenarios 

Incremental Resources 

Summary for each 


Financial Plan 

For the Single 


VII-4



Assumptions for Requirements 

The assumptions for estimating the financial requirements were documented 

extensively during the estimation process. Consultants specialized in various 

aspects of construction, engineering, design, planning, and development were 

employed to assist in the task of converting the transition plan into detailed 

components that drive the financial requirements. While it is not practical to list every 

assumption or estimation method used in the preparation of the requirement 

estimates, the major assumptions are listed below: 

• The first year of the model is considered to be fiscal year 1997-98. This year 

is used as the base year to recognize the impact of projects currently 

underway at the UCHSC, UH, and Fitzsimons sites. 

• As appropriate, UCHSC and UH programs currently located in off-campus 

leased space are assumed to be initially relocated to UH and UCHSC back-fill 

space or to the Fitzsimons site. 

• In general, each building component is assumed to have a planning, design, 

and construction period of four years, which is comprised of one and one half 

years of planning/design and two and one half years of construction. Some 

smaller components have a shorter duration, and some larger components are 

estimated to have a slightly longer duration. 

• Research space is assumed to be shared among all schools with a distribution 

of space between wet labs, dry labs, faculty offices, support staff offices, and 

animal space. An additional one-percent of the total research related space 

was added to accommodate graduate education programs. 

• Instructional space is assumed to be interdisciplinary, inter-professional, and 

shared by all schools and includes space for faculty offices and school student 

support services. 

• The new UH inpatient facility is planned for 300 beds. 

• Total UH space is 1,100,000 gross square feet, with 40,000 gross square feet 

allocated to office space for faculty. 

• The project includes construction of an Ambulatory Care Complex estimated at 

260,000 gross square feet. 

• Other clinical space includes the Cancer Center (estimated at 95,000 gross 

square feet), and the Eye Institute (estimated at 45,000 gross square feet). 

VII-5



• For the Colorado Psychiatric Hospital (CPH), clinical space includes inpatient 

beds, day program space, and space to co-locate the Department of 

Psychiatry with CPH. 

• The infrastructure cost estimates include all roads, an energy plant, utility 

distribution systems, water, steam, storm drainage, sewer lines, landscaping, 

site-lighting, sidewalks, bike paths, information technology, building demolition, 

and other campus infrastructure costs. These costs are distributed over the 

transition period based on the critical mass of development at the Fitzsimons 

campus. 

• In each scenario, new auxiliary functions and self-funded programs (i.e. 

hospitel, faculty club, etc.) are assumed to be constructed after the transition 

period, and therefore, the requirements for these facilities are not included in 

the cost estimates. 

• All UH and UCHSC administrative functions can be accommodated within 

Building 500 at the Fitzsimons site. 

• An annual, compounded inflation factor of four percent is built into all facility 

cost estimates, and a five percent contingency factor is added to all estimates. 

• Construction costs are generally based on the mid-range of the cost estimation 

amounts except when it is known that a particular building will vary significantly 

from mid-range. The construction cost amounts are based on historical 

experience and costs of construction in the State of Colorado. Construction 

cost estimates include computations for both new facilities and remodeling of 

existing space. The firm of Hanscomb Associates, Inc. established the cost 

estimates. 

• Equipment, furnishings, and furniture estimates take into consideration 

requirements for new, replacement, and reuse of existing equipment, 

furnishings, and furniture as well as requirements for art in public places. 

Estimates do not include purchasing items of new research equipment costing 

$250,000 and more, such as a CT Scan or MRI, because it is assumed that 

these items will be purchased with direct sponsored program funding. 

• Professional services cost estimates include fees for construction 

management, engineering, architects, designers, planners, and other 

professional consultants typically involved in a construction project. 

• The cost estimates include controlled maintenance for both new and existing 

facilities as well as an estimate of the deferred maintenance costs at the 

current 9 th and Colorado Boulevard site. 

VII-6



• Webb Waring and Barbara Davis are excluded from the cost estimate in order 

to make these entities cost-neutral for the purposes of transition planning. 

• It is recognized that costs will be incurred as a result of transitioning from the 

9 th and Colorado Boulevard site to the Fitzsimons site. The costs can be 

segmented into inconvenience costs and duplicative costs. Inconvenience 

costs can be described as additional time required by faculty and staff 

commuting between service locations without the need to hire additional 

personnel. Duplicative costs arise when the inconvenience cost becomes so 

significant that additional personnel must be hired. Duplicative costs also 

occur when personnel are required to operate two service locations. The 

projection of duplicative costs for the financial plan was based on information 

gathered during an extensive interview process with key faculty members, 

department heads and administrators at both the UCHSC and UH. The faculty 

and support staff cost estimates were developed by CHI Systems Practice of 

Superior Consultant Company, Inc., and UCHSC and UH administrators 

developed duplicative cost estimates for their departments. 

• Requirements for parking at the Fitzsimons site were estimated, but are not 

included in the total amount of projected financial requirements. Parking 

operations are self-funded. If any requirements were included for parking, 

equivalent resources would have to be added to the identification of resources. 

At this point in time, it is assumed that the UCHSC and UH will separately 

operate parking programs to meet their needs at the Fitzsimons location. 

• In the scenario, debt outstanding for UCHSC facilities will be retired before the 

buildings are decommissioned. The only exception to this is the debt 

outstanding on the 9 th and Colorado Boulevard Parking structure, which will 

expire in 2016. It is assumed that any new occupant of the 9 th and Colorado 

Boulevard Parking structure will be responsible for the remaining debt at the 

time the new occupant assumes responsibility for the structure. As a result, 

the requirement estimates do not include amounts for retiring the principal of 

any UCHSC debt. 

Assumptions for Resource Projections 

Assumptions for estimating the financial resources were developed for both UH and 

the UCHSC. The financial plan model was designed to estimate both one-time funds 

as well as incremental funds available annually from on-going activities. For UH, the 

resource projections were developed using a nationally recognized model for 

estimating financial activity. The Ernst & Young LLP consulting team has 

considerable experience with the model used by UH and provided valuable insight 

into national health care trends; however, UH management is responsible for the 

development of all assumptions used in the model. A similar model does not exist for 

VII-7



higher education due in part to the complexity and diverse nature of funding for 

academic medical centers. For the UCHSC, an extensive inventory of one-time and 

on-going sources of funds was created and built into a forecasting model. The 

following list of assumptions is not exhaustive, but does include the significant 

determinations of the Finance Subcommittee: 

UCHSC: 

• All categories of auxiliary and self-funded activities are included for the 

purpose of estimating resources. Projections of growth or decline are 

developed for each major category of auxiliary activity. Projections are based 

on a five-year historical trend, and adjustments are made for any known future 

expansion or contraction of the auxiliary’s activity. The resources of the 

parking auxiliary as it currently exists are included in the analysis, and they are 

not adjusted to reflect changes that may be required to provide services at 

Fitzsimons because Parking is excluded from the financial requirements. 

Parking operations for the UCHSC must be self-funded per Colorado Revised 

Statutes. It should be noted that both parking income and revenue bonds 

issued on behalf of the UCHSC parking auxiliary would impact the debt 

capacity of the UCHSC. 

• The cash balances of the UCHSC are considered one-time funds for the 

purposes of the financial plan model. The allocation of these funds for facility 

requirements, maintenance of the base programs, and new and existing 

program enhancements varies based on “ownership” and source of the cash 

balance. 

• The University Treasury gave the Subcommittee feedback on the 

appropriateness of the variables impacting the cost of capital for certificates of 

participation and various types of revenue bonds. Variables impacting the cost 

of capital include interest rates, issuance fees, and term of the loan. The chart 

on the following page documents the terms used for the financial plan 

projection. 

UCHSC COST OF CAPITAL VARIABLES 

Type of Borrowing Interest Rate Issuance Costs Term 

* 

Research Building 

6% .5% 25 years 

Revolving Fund 

Revenue Bonds 6% .5% 25 years 

Certificates of Participation 6.5% .5% 10 years 

Internal Treasury Loans 6.75% 0 5 years 

*Issuance costs are estimated as a percent of the loan. 

VII-8



Projections are made for funding received by the UCHSC as a result of the Total Learning Environment 

initiative, the President’s initiatives, and other initiatives of the Chancellor to enhance investment in the 

UCHSC. These projections are based on historical trends and conservative projections of potential 

support from the President and the Board of Regents. 

• In cooperation with the CU Foundation, the Subcommittee received estimates 

for all types of giving. These estimates are based on historical trends, an 

independent market analysis conducted for the CU Foundation, capital 

campaign plans, and institutional benchmarks. Projections are made for fund 

raising by the CU Capital Campaign, the Fitzsimons Campaign, estate and 

planned giving, and in-kind gifts and donations. In addition, separate 

projections are provided for growth in true and quasi-endowments. The growth 

in the principal of the endowments is comprised of donations and investment 

earnings based on historical trends. For the purposes of the financial plans, it 

is assumed that no principal will be withdrawn from the quasi-endowments. 

• Projections of the resources that will be available from federal appropriations 

were prepared by the University’s federal liaison and are projected from both 

earmarked funding opportunities and competitive, peer-reviewed opportunities. 

The estimates are conservative due to the uncertainty associated with the 

composition of the congressional leadership and federal spending policy. 

• The Unrestricted Fund was analyzed by component and separate projections 

are developed for student fees, indirect cost recovery, tuition, state general 

funds, patient revenue, and miscellaneous revenue. The significant portions of 

the Unrestricted Fund are state general funds and indirect cost recovery. State 

general funds are projected to grow at three and one-half percent per year, 

and indirect cost recoveries follow the projections made for sponsored 

program growth. Although it is acknowledged that there has not been campuswide 

consensus on the appropriate use of indirect cost recovery policy funds, 

the committee report uses a 50% allocation of school funds and a 100% 

allocation of Chancellor funds designated under the policy for investment in 

facilities. 

• Incremental school-based carry-forward projections are minimal based on the 

assumption that 50% of the indirect cost recovery policy funds in the future will 

be directed toward the construction of new research facilities. 

• Incremental Central Services & Administration carry-forward funds are 

projected at historical levels due to increasing demands on this budget. 

• The UCHSC will realize savings from the implementation of the Administrative 

Streamlining Project and from the phase-out of certain off-campus leases. The 

Administrative Streamlining Project staff prepared estimates of the savings 

resulting from the project; however, for the purposes of the financial plan, 

VII-9



these savings were reduced in recognition of the potential to gain costs in the 

academic units and for information technology requirements. Off-campus lease 

savings are based on an average of $200,000 per year for phase-out of 

leases. 

• Funds in the Plant Fund were analyzed to determine the availability of these 

one-time funds for investment in facilities and new and existing program 

enhancements. It was determined that campus unit funds in construction 

project accounts will be allocated to facility requirements at the current 9 th and 

Colorado Boulevard campus. Plant Fund reserves for the units are considered 

separately from those designated for Central Services and Administration 

(CS&A). In both cases, these reserves are allocated to facilities requirements. 

• The Agency Fund of the UCHSC is primarily used to receive funds from 

University Physicians, Incorporated (UPI) for payment of a portion of the 

compensation of the School of Medicine faculty. These funds are projected to 

grow at slightly less than historical trends, and 100% of them are allocated in 

the model to maintenance of base programs and program enhancement and 

new program development. 

• The UPI Academic Enrichment Fund is projected to grow an average of 5% 

per year which is commensurate with UH clinical activity. UPI funds are 

allocated primarily to existing program enhancements and new programs. 

• The income from the practice plans of the Schools of Nursing, Pharmacy, and 

Dentistry is assumed to be invested in the base program with the exception of 

any debt issued for space identified in the scenario for these programs. 

• Income from the School of Medicine practice plan (UPI) is excluded from the 

financial plans except for the Academic Enrichment Fund and funds that flow 

to the UCHSC Agency Fund for faculty salary support. Growth in the funds is 

assumed to support base maintenance and new programs or program 

enhancements with 90% allocated to base and 10% to programs. Although 

the financial plans exclude the funds retained by UPI, it should be recognized 

that these funds are substantial and are used for both investments in the base 

and enhancing new and existing programs. 

• The scenario calls for minimal disposition of existing property at the 9 th and 

Colorado Boulevard site. Accordingly, only proceeds from the sale of East 

Pavilion and properties west of Colorado Boulevard are included in the study 

for the UCHSC. The proceeds are estimated based on the most reliable 

information available for the current market value of the property less any 

outstanding debt service related to the property. 

VII-10



• For purposes of forecasting, sponsored program activity is categorized as 

follows: federal on-campus research; federal off-campus research; privately 

funded research; and instruction, training, and service programs. Projections 

are made for each category and consider program growth, research inflation, 

and program deflation due to limitations in space. National NIH funding trends 

and the timing of new research space impact the Subcommittee’s projections 

for growth. In addition, the projections for sponsored program growth are 

adjusted for the proportionate increase in space. Two adjustments were made 

to the proportionate increase in sponsored program activity attributed to new 

space: one adjustment discounts the growth by 20% to take into consideration 

decompression, and the other adjustment takes into account the time lag to fill 

new research space. For the purposes of projecting indirect cost recoveries, 

the Subcommittee took into account the projections for sponsored program 

activity, trends in federal reimbursement of indirect costs, and historical 

collection patterns for indirect costs. The projected federal on-campus indirect 

cost reimbursement rates are 51% for years 1 - 2, 48% for years 3 - 4, and 

50% for years 5 – 20. 

• The State of Colorado provides the University with funding for “controlled 

maintenance” projects. The UCHSC will be eligible for these funds for both the 

9 th and Colorado Boulevard location and the Fitzsimons campus. This 

resource is projected in the financial plans by reviewing historical trends and 

integrating information into the model regarding the current initiatives of the 

State Legislature. Based on history, the UCHSC appropriations for controlled 

maintenance are estimated at 40% of projected total controlled maintenance 

appropriations to the University. 

• The State Legislature appropriates funds for capital construction each fiscal 

year. The UCHSC will be eligible to receive appropriations from this source for 

both the current 9 th and Colorado Boulevard campus and the Fitzsimons site. 

Projections for this resource are based on historic trends, integration of 

predictions on future legislative initiatives, and requirements of the UCHSC. 

• In addition to the controlled maintenance and capital construction 

appropriation, the UCHSC will benefit from appropriations to a special trust 

fund established by the State for construction of facilities at the Fitzsimons 

campus. The trust fund will earn interest from the State Treasury that will be 

reinvested in the principal of the trust. For the purposes of the financial plan, it 

is assumed that the State will contribute at least $7,700,000 per year to the 

trust, which with interest earnings will accrue to $100,000,000 over the initial 

ten-year life of the trust. It is also assumed the State will continue to contribute 

appropriations at a rate of $5 million per year for the years that follow. 

• Tuition is projected to grow at historical rates and is not inflated or deflated to 

reflect any overall increase or decrease in total student enrollment for the 

VII-11



UCHSC. All resources from tuition are allocated to maintenance of base 

programs. 

• The debt capacity of the UCHSC is based on a detail-forecasting model that 

uses a conservative approach in order to maintain the credit rating of the 

University of Colorado. It is assumed that some of the units within the UCHSC 

have a limited ability to service debt; therefore, the model did not project debt 

for these units. For the UCHSC, total debt capacity is calculated using an 

average annual rate of growth of 7% for the campus and adjusted upward in 

certain years for projected growth in sponsored programs. The current debt 

capacity limits established by the University for the UCHSC are not exceeded 

in any of the debt projections. The first priority for use of debt capacity is 

assigned to the Research Building Revolving Fund debt, which is used to 

finance research space and is backed with indirect cost recoveries from 

sponsored programs. The following chart summarizes debt projections for the 

transition scenario: 

UCHSC DEBT PROJECTIONS FOR THE TRANSITION SCENARIO 

Debt Type 

Amount 

Research Building Revolving Fund $223,000,000 

Clinical: Colorado Psychiatric Hospital $30,000,000 

Student Fees $2,000,000 

Total $255,000,000 

Besides the impact of debt capacity, the amount of debt projected varies due to the 

timing outlined for each facility, i.e. facilities cost more in later years due to the impact 

of compound inflation on construction costs. 

The following chart summarizes the incremental resource projections for the UCHSC 

for the transition scenario: 

UCHSC INCREMENTAL RESOURCE PROJECTIONS 

Incremental Resource 

Amount 

Auxiliary & Self-Funded $131,572,248 

Carry-Forward $38,122,224 

Cash Balances $74,044,651 

Clinical $63,334,730 

Chancellor Special Initiative $11,500,000 

Donations $378,610,218 

VII-12



Federal Support $76,246,000 

Fees $2,170,968 

Other $6,512,616 

Plant Fund $30,838,332 

Agency Fund $59,542,262 

Practice Plans $132,290,752 

Property Income $7,500,000 

Sponsored Programs Direct $339,149,624 

Sponsored Program ICR $392,753,588 

State Capital Construction $100,896,104 

State General Fund $38,208,844 

State Trust Fund $113,428,951 

Tuition $8,405,588 

University Initiatives $13,670,653 

Miscellaneous Revenue $3,910,638 

Total $2,022,708,991 

UH: 

UH identified six resources available to fund the Fitzsimons site: 1) operating income 

with depreciation expense added back; 2) donations; 3) proceeds from debt 

issuance; 4) interest income on investments; 5) income on the sale of property; and 

6) short-term investments. The following assumptions are applied in order to identify 

the available resources for the project: 

• The projections are based on the 1999 budget. Historical trends and new or 

expanded programs and services are considered when projecting future levels 

of available resources. 

• By projecting future operating expense levels from budget year 1999, base 

maintenance of existing programs is inherently included in operating income. 

• Inpatient and outpatient projections were prepared by UH management and 

tested against inpatient use rates and market share and outpatient capture 

rates in the metro Denver area. The projected market share and patient days 

are as follows: 

VII-13



Fiscal Year Patient Days Average Daily Census Market Share 

1996 74,210 203 7.5% 

1997 71,903 197 7.3% 

1998 69,111 189 7.1% 

1999 70,041 192 7.2% 

2004 76,310 209 7.8% 

2009 81,032 222 7.7% 

2014 86,714 237 7.6% 

2017 88,693 243 7.5% 

The average length of stay throughout the projection period is held constant at the 

1999 budget level of 4.7. Total patient days are a function of the number of 

discharges and average length of stay. 

• Outpatient utilization is based on a projected capture rate calculated as the 

number of UH outpatient visits divided by the population per thousand. The 

number of outpatient visits per discharge is estimated to grow from 22 in 1999 

to 30 by 2017. The following chart summarizes these variables: 

Fiscal Year Outpatient Visits Capture Rate Percent Change Outpatient Visits Per Discharge 

1996 285,643 136.1 10.9% 19.0 

1997 309,251 144.3 6.0% 20.3 

1998 316,934 144.8 .3% 21.4 

1999 329,611 147.8 2.1% 22.1 

2004 420,408 172.0 16.4% 25.9 

2009 492,099 183.6 6.7% 28.5 

2014 543,317 185.0 0.8% 30.0 

2017 576,573 185.8 0.4% 30.6 

• A rate increase of 2.0 percent per year is assumed throughout the projection 

period. 

• As a result of the increased market penetration in managed care products as 

well as an aging population, payer mix is shifted each year through fiscal year 

2004 and then held constant throughout the remaining projection period. The 

following chart shows the payer mix in 1999 and 2004 based on discharges: 

VII-14



Payer Budget 1999 Payer Mix Fiscal Year 2004 Payer Mix 

Medicare 21.0% 25.0% 

Medicaid 23.0% 22.0% 

Managed Care 20.0% 26.0% 

Other 36.0% 27.0% 

Total 100.0% 100.0% 

Net revenue as a percent of gross charges is as follows: 

Fiscal Year Net Revenue Per Adjusted Discharge Net Revenue as a Percent of Gross Charges 

1996 $10,626 65.7% 

1997 $9,667 63.6% 

1998 $10,669 67.8% 

1999 $10,915 67.4% 

2004 $11,642 63.7% 

2009 $12,397 61.4% 

2014 $13,266 59.5% 

2017 $13,840 58.5% 

• Net revenue is reduced by $10.9 million per year, the maximum over a phased 

in period, in response to the impact of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 on 

Medicare reimbursement. 

• In addition, net revenue is increased approximately $8 million per year, the 

maximum over a phased in period, to represent additional disproportionate 

share funding approved by the Colorado Legislature. This funding will be used 

for additional marketing related to the project, medically indigent care, 

additional program investments, duplication costs related to the project, and 

the Colorado Child Health Program with approximately $4-5 million available 

for other programs. 

• Charity care and bad debt expense as a percent of gross charges is held 

constant at the budget 1999 percent of 10.1 and 2.9 respectively. 

• The number of full time equivalents (FTE's) per year is based on a ratio of 60 

percent variable (with utilization) and 40 percent fixed for clinical and ancillary 

FTE's. All administrative FTE's are assumed to be 100 percent fixed. As 

volume continues to rise throughout the projection period, the number of FTE's 

continues to rise. However, because there is a large fixed component to 

staffing, the number of FTE's per adjusted occupied bed continues to decrease 

throughout the projection period. The following chart summarizes the number 

VII-15



of FTE's as well as the number of FTE's per adjusted occupied bed during the 

projection period: 

Fiscal Year Total FTE's FTE's Per Adjusted Occupied Bed 

1996 2,044 7.0 

1997 2,082 7.0 

1998 2,105 7.4 

1999 2,310 8.0 

2004 2,435 7.4 

2009 2,568 7.1 

2014 2,682 6.8 

2017 2,748 6.7 

• The average salary per FTE is projected to increase 2.5 percent per year in 

the projection period based on budget 1999. 

• Benefit expense is expected to remain constant at 17.6 percent of salary 

expense through 2017 based on budget 1999. 

The following expenses are specifically identified and projected in the model. The 

inflation rates used to project future expense levels are derived from historical 

performance and industry standards. Most of these expenses have a variable 

component that allows the expense to increase as volume rises. Increases in volume 

therefore represent an increase in addition to the increase generated by the inflation 

factor. 

• Medical and Non-Medical Supplies expense is expected to increase 2.0 

percent per year, with 60 percent variable with volume changes. 

• Purchased Services, which consists primarily of audit, consulting, and other 

non-physician professional fees, is expected to increase 2.5 percent per year, 

with 20 percent variable with volume. 

• Indirect Education Support and Medical Education represents the money spent 

to support faculty initiatives through University Physicians, Inc. This expense 

is expected to increase 2.0 percent per year, with 10 percent variable with 

volume increases. 

• Insurance Expense is inflated 2.5 percent per year. Insurance expense is 

estimated to be 100 percent fixed. 

VII-16



• Other Operating Expenses includes such items as utilities, maintenance, etc. 

and is expected to increase 2.4 percent per year. This expense is 60 percent 

variable with changes in volume. 

• Routine capital expenditures, excluding spending related to the project, vary 

each year in the projection period based on budget 1999, historical spending 

patterns, and project costs. 

• Costs associated with duplication of services between two campuses during 

the transition period average approximately $600,000 per year (in 1998 

dollars) for the Ambulatory Care Complex. These costs are inflated 

approximately 2.5 percent per year throughout the projection period. 

• As a result of a fundraising initiative related to the Ambulatory Care Complex, 

a one time $10 million donation is included in both fiscal year 2000 and fiscal 

year 2001. $3.8 million of additional donations are included in each 

succeeding year when project costs are incurred. Total donations approximate 

$50 million through the projection period. 

Debt assumptions associated with the transition to the Fitzsimons site are as follows: 

Project Debt Proceeds Interest Rate Repayment Period 

Ambulatory Care Complex $28 million 6.5% 30 years 

Hospital $100 million 6.5% 30 years 

• Investment income is estimated at 7.5 percent of the investment balance that 

includes cash, short-term investments, board-designated assets, and longterm 

investments. 

• Approximately $100 million of short-term investments is identified to fund 

project costs. 

• Only proceeds from the sale of the following properties are included in the 

study for UH: Bellaire Building, Department of Health Building, and the Dikeou 

property. The proceeds are based on the current market value of the 

properties and not adjusted for projected changes in the market or inflation. 

Assumptions for Allocating Projected Resources 

UCHSC 

The UCHSC one-time and incremental projected resources were allocated for: 1) 

meeting the facility requirement identified for each transition scenario; 2) maintaining 

the base campus programs; and 3) enhancing existing or creating new programs. It is 

VII-17



important to note that, unlike UH, many of the UCHSC resources are restricted as to 

their use. In addition, many resources such as existing student fees, tuition, state 

general fund, and sponsored program direct support, are only considered to be 

available for maintenance of the base. Other resources, such as the Academic 

Enrichment Fund, are allocated primarily for program enhancement and new program 

development. For those resources that are considered to be available for facility 

requirements, the following general principles are used to distribute the resources to 

the various types of facilities: 

• Projected incremental indirect cost recovery resources for allocation to space 

requirements primarily come from 50% of the indirect cost recovery policy 

funds allocated to the units and 100% of the indirect cost recovery policy funds 

allocated to the Chancellor. For forecasting purposes, it is assumed the 

UCHSC would leverage these indirect cost recovery funds allocated to space 

requirements by borrowing for building incremental research space. Any 

amount of the indirect cost recovery funds allocated to space requirements 

that is not used for debt service is available for allocation to both research 

space requirements and facility operating costs for incremental research 

space. It should be noted that after the transition period, the indirect cost 

recovery policy will return to the normal distribution except for the amount 

required to service the debt. To illustrate using the 12-year scenario, if the 

indirect cost recovery policy funds are $10 million in year 1 of the transition, 

50% or $5 million would be directed to debt service. Assuming the policy funds 

are $20 million in year 12, 50% or $10 million would be directed to debt 

service. After year 12, the indirect cost recovery policy funds directed to debt 

service would remain constant at $10 million each year until the debt is paid. 

• Any debt issued for space occupied by UCHSC clinical operations is allocated 

to clinical space for the CPH and the School of Dentistry. 

• Any debt backed with student fees is allocated to space used for student 

services such as a student center. 

• Any debt issued by auxiliary operations is allocated to space that will be 

occupied by auxiliaries. For the purposes of allocation, it is assumed that 

many of the auxiliaries will relocate when the facilities for student services are 

constructed. 

• Projected State resources for controlled maintenance are allocated to 

controlled maintenance at both sites. 

• Projected State appropriations for capital construction are allocated to facility 

requirements for infrastructure, education, and support space. 

VII-18



• Projected State Trust Fund appropriations are allocated to infrastructure, 

education, and support facility requirements at the Fitzsimons site. 

• Projected Federal appropriations and Academic Enrichment Fund resources 

available for space requirements are allocated for research, educational, and 

infrastructure requirements. 

• Any projected carry-forward and cash resources that are available for 

allocation are allocated first to duplication requirements and then to space 

requirements. 

• All other projected resources that are available for space are allocated to 

education, research, support, UCHSC clinical, and infrastructure requirements. 

The following chart summarizes the allocation of projected resources for the UCHSC: 

ALLOCATION OF UCHSC PROJECTED INCREMENTAL RESOURCES 

Use of Projected Incremental Resources 

Amount 

UCHSC Base Maintenance $ 684,090,132 

UCHSC New Programs & Program Enhancements $ 385,246,990 

UCHSC Projected Resources Allocated for Space Development * $ 813,582,008 

UCHSC Projected Resources Unallocated for Space Development $ 139,789,861 

Total $ 2,022,708,991 

*Space Development includes construction of facilities, remodel of facilities, infrastructure development, controlled 

maintenance of new and existing facilities, incremental facility operating costs, duplication costs, and Fitzsimons 

development costs. 

UH 

As of the date of this report, the UH Board of Directors is in the process of reviewing 

the assumptions related to projected resource levels. Because this review is 

pending, a complete list of assumptions for allocating projected UH resources is not 

included in this report. However, the following information provides a summary of the 

allocation methodology: 

Projected UH resources are not allocated for UCHSC facility requirements, 

maintenance of the UCHSC base, or for creating new UCHSC programs or 

enhancing existing UCHSC programs. 

VII-19



The following chart summarizes the allocation of projected resources for UH: 

ALLOCATION OF UH PROJECTED INCREMENTAL RESOURCES 

Use of Projected Incremental Resources 

Amount* 

UH New Programs & Program Enhancements $111,719,987 

UH Projected Resources Allocated for Space Development $783,052,273 

UH Projected Resources Unallocated for Space Development $0 

Total $894,772,260 

*The projected resources shown in the chart above are subject to change based on the UH Board of Directors review and 

recommendations. 

Description of Transition Scenario 

The Campus Executive Master Plan Committee will approve the final transition 

scenario for the relocation of the UCHSC Campus to the Fitzsimons site in late 

August 1998. The final transition scenario is an approach that spreads the projected 

cost of the initial phase of the transition over a twelve-year period. All research space 

is assumed to be built at the Fitzsimons site, for a total of 800,000 gross square feet 

of new construction in the first twelve years of the transition. Additional research 

space of 1,000,000 gross square feet will be built after the initial twelve years of the 

transition. 

The scenario assumes that education space will be built in phases. In the first twelve 

years, 565,000 gross square feet of education space will be constructed. The 

second phase includes an additional 90,000 gross square feet of educational space 

after the initial 12 years of the transition. 

The scenario also assumes that the Ambulatory Care Complex is completed by 2001 

and that all inpatient hospital beds are constructed at the same time (by the end of 

Year 11). The scenario also incorporates the on-going maintenance of current 

facilities and the backfill of space based on the timing of the relocations. 

Projected Financial Requirements 

The following chart shows the total projected financial requirements for the transition 

scenario based on the assumptions detailed previously in this report: 

VII-20



PROJECTED FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE TRANSITION SCENARIO 

University Hospital $ 737,701,372 

Health Sciences Center $ 812,494,712 

Total $1,550,196,084 

Projected Financial Resources 

Resources are generated by both UCHSC and UH. The financial model allocates the 

projected one-time and incremental resources to facility requirements, maintenance 

of base programs and enhancing existing or creating new programs. As described 

previously, projected resources from the UCHSC come from a variety of diverse 

activities. For UH, resource projections are primarily based on the success of the 

clinical enterprise. The following chart is a summary of projected resources for both 

the UH and the UCHSC: 

PROJECTED FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR THE TRANSITION SCENARIO 


Health Sciences Center $ 953,371,869 

Total $1,736,424,142 

Margin Analysis 

The purpose of preparing the financial plan is to determine the relative financial 

margin associated with the transition scenario. In addition, the financial model is 

used to estimate resources available for maintenance of programs and program 

enhancement or new programs. Details of the margin analysis are presented in 

elsewhere in this report; however, the following chart provides a high-level overview 

of the results. 

PROJECTED MARGIN FOR THE TRANSITION SCENARIO WITH PROJECT COST 

CONTINGENCY AND INFLATION 


Health Sciences Center $140,877,157 

Total Projected Margin $186,228,058 

For the Health Sciences Center, the Finance Subcommittee recommends, to the 

extent possible and financially feasible, that any margin accumulated in the actual 

VII-21



transition be used to help mitigate use of 50% of the units’ and 100% of the 

Chancellor’s indirect cost recovery policy dedicated to the “space” requirements. 

Change from Four-Scenario Study 

The financial study of the four transition scenarios identified gaps between the 

projected space requirements and projected space resources for each scenario that 

ranged from $445 million to $794 million. The following chart summarizes the margin 

for each scenario: 

MARGIN ANALYSIS FOR THE FOUR TRANSITION SCENARIOS 

Entity 12-Year Frontload 12-Year Backload 20-Year Frontload 20-Year Backload 

University Hospital $(161,791,793) $(178,224,967) $(203,440,789) $(217,199,302) 

Health Sciences Center $(429,949,538) $(616,087,092) $(241,866,131) $(272,466,529) 

Total Gap $(591,741,331) $(794,312,059) $(445,306,920) $(489,665,831) 

Based on direction provided by the University of Colorado Board of Regents, the 

Master Plan Executive Committee restructured the transition plan to the Fitzsimons. 

The primary differences between the requirements and resources projections used in 

the financial analysis of the four transition scenarios and the projections used in the 

financial plan for the single transition scenario are as follows: 

• The construction and development contingency is reduced from ten percent to 

five percent. The reduction in the contingency is partially offset by inflating the 

contingency at a compound rate of four percent per year. Inflation was not 

applied to the contingency in the financial analysis for the four transition 

scenarios. 

• The four scenario financial analysis included an estimate of cost savings due 

to the reduction of the use of space at the 9th and Colorado Boulevard 

campus. The single scenario financial plan assumes phase-out only for East 

Pavilion and the small structures located west of Colorado Boulevard. 

• Research space requirements in the twelve-year timeframe are reduced from 

1,800,000 gross square feet to 800,000 gross square feet, and the phasing of 

space development is adjusted. 

• Education space requirements in the initial phase of the transition are reduced 

from 650,000 gross square feet to 565,000 gross square feet, which now 

includes 35,000 gross square feet for the Student Dental Clinic. In addition, the 

phasing of the educational space requirements is adjusted. 

VII-22



• The construction of the Alumni and Conference Center and the 

Communications Center is delayed until after the initial 12-year period of 

construction is complete. 

• The infrastructure requirements are re-engineered to correspond to the resizing 

of the facilities requirements in the single transition scenario. 

• The requirement for the facilities support and warehouse facility are reduced 

by 1,700 gross square feet, and renovation of existing space at the Fitzsimons 

campus is reduced by 12,172 gross square feet. 

• Projected resources from sponsored programs and indirect cost recovery are 

adjusted to coincide with the updated research space requirements. 

• The timing of draws from the State Trust Fund is adjusted to reflect the 

phasing of the educational space requirements in the single transition 

scenario. 

• One hundred percent of the Chancellor’s projected indirect cost recovery 

policy funds are dedicated to the requirements rather than the previous level of 

50 percent. In addition, a Chancellor’s special initiative of $11,500,000 is 

added as a resource. 

The results of these changes are found in the single transition scenario. For the 

Health Sciences Center, the changes produced a 17 percent margin as detailed in 

the following chart: 

UCHSC DETAILED PROJECTED MARGIN FOR THE SINGLE TRANSITION SCENARIO 

Type of Resource 

Amount 

Donations $ 53,100,004 

Practice Plans $ 24,468,194 

Sponsored Program Indirect Cost Recovery $ 62,221,663 

Other $ 1,087,296 

Total Projected Margin $140,877,157 

The vast majority of the projected margin in the Sponsored Program Indirect Cost 

Recovery category is from the Chancellor’s indirect cost recovery policy funds that 

are accumulated in the latter years of the transition period. 

The summary results of the changes found in the single transition scenario for both 

University Hospital and the Health Sciences Center are shown in the following chart, 

which illustrates the projected margin differences between the single transition 

VII-23



scenario and one of the four transition scenarios, the 12-Year Frontload. Negative 

amounts indicate a gap. 

UH AND UCHSC COMPARATIVE FINANCIAL PLAN PROJECTED MARGIN 

Entity Single Transition Scenario 12-Year Frontload Scenario 

University Hospital $ 45,350,901 $(161,791,793) 

Health Sciences Center $140,877,157 $(429,949,538) 

Total $186,228,058 $(591,741,331) 

VII-24

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Development of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and University 

Hospital master plan involved the work, creativity, and dedication of hundreds of 

faculty, students, staff, and administrators throughout the two institutions. 

Community representatives, local government officials, elected officials, staff and 

officers from other CU campuses and the President’s Office participated in planning 

sessions for over one year. A list of these individuals appears in Appendix A. 

The members of the University of Colorado Design Review Board have met in 

special sessions one or more times each month during the planning process, and 

they have provided invaluable expertise, insight, and direction. 

An outstanding team of consultants provided a comprehensive scope of professional 

services for almost every aspect of the master plan and the planning process: 

Architecture and Planning 

Perkins & Will 

Davis Partnership P.C. 

Centerbrook 

Civitas, Inc. 

Programming 

Chi Systems Division – Superior Consultant Company, Inc. 

GPR Planners Collaborative, Inc. 

Space Diagnostics, Inc. 

Financial 

Ernst and Young 

Engineering 

Integrated Planning & Engineering 

S.A. Miro 

Traffic, Parking, Transportation 

BRW, Inc. 

Materials Handling 

LBH Consulting Group, Inc. 

Cost Estimating 

Hanscomb Associates, Inc.

Anschutz Medical Center Master Plan - University of Colorado Denver

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